Ultimate Bionicle
by Omega90
Summary: The story of Bionicle altered and retold! Follow the Toa Nuva and Toa Metru as they struggle to unite against enemies old and new in order to maintain peace for their islands, and amongst themselves. Rated for violence. Please R
1. Chapter 1: Enemies or Friends?

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Note: This story is almost entirely based on a game a friend and I have played for a number of years (and still play as a matter of fact) using the Bionicle characters. The story will go from when we first started, and hopefully, to whenever we finish. I do not own the characters in this story they are copyright to the LEGO Bionicle series with the exception of some characters my friend and I built ourselves (with LEGOs pieces) which are part of the story as well. As the story goes on some elements contain content from franchises such as Star Wars, Naruto, Inuyasha, Dragon Ball Z, and Zatch Bell and a few others, including names, attacks, abilities, weapons, etc. I would just like to take the time to give credit to the creators of Bionicle and of the listed franchises for their inspiring ideas.

Prologue

"The Island of Mata Nui was once a paradise-until the entity know as Makuta arrived, transforming it into a land of darkness and evil. The natives, called Matoran, and their leaders, the Turaga, have waited and hoped for heroes who would conquer Makuta and save their home." Their prayers have been answered. Six canisters have washed up on the shores of Mata Nui. Now begins an epic tale full of action, adventure, mystery, romance, new allies, and villains never known to the real Bionicle world.

Chapter 1: Enemies or Friends?

He awakened on a beach. He does not know where he came from or what his purpose is here. All he knows are two things: where he is, the Island of Mata Nui, and who he is, Tahu, the Toa of Fire. He first surveyed his surroundings. Behind him was what appeared to be a large canister. He looked up the beach and saw a vast forest with a large mountain on the horizon. He could tell it was very high considering there was a large section with snow on it. Tahu started to walk up the beach and headed up the mainland. Tahu traveled inland more through the forest until he reached the more mountainous region.

Suddenly he noticed something up ahead. It was a strange white being holding a sword and shield along with a different mask than what he wore himself, a Hau, the mask of shielding. Tahu decided to call out to the unknown individual to see if he can get any information about why he is here. "Hey!" he yelled out. "Come over here for a second I need to ask something!" The strange individual looked at him straight in the eye and gave him a hateful look, and just continued to walk in the direction he was going. This frustrated Tahu to no end. All he wanted to do was ask a simple question.

He quickly ran towards him and jumped in front of the individual, blocking his path. "Hey, what's the matter with you huh? Who the hell do you think you are that you don't think you have to answer me? What the hell is your problem?" Tahu said to him. The individual looked furious now. "My name is Kopaka and I answer to no one. Now get the hell out of my way!" as he said that he stabbed his sword outward and shot a beam of ice energy out of it. Tahu quickly dodged the blast which froze the ground it hit immediately on contact. "My name, is Tahu, and if it's a fight you want then bring it on!" he yelled as he rushed towards Kopaka his flame sword at hand.

Tahu slashed his sword at Kopaka but he quickly blocked the oncoming attack with his own sword. "That all you've got?" he said in a mocking tone. "Not even close." Tahu replied with a smirk. Tahu then swiftly spun around giving Kopaka a kick with the back of his heel. The blow knocked Kopaka backwards and off of his feet. But he was far from finished. Kopaka shot another blast of ice from his sword and this time he didn't miss. The blast hit Tahu directly in his left arm. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Tahu screamed in agony as the ice chilled him to the bone. As it did he slowly started to lose feeling in his arm. "My goddamn arm!" Kopaka started to laugh at him mockingly as he got back to his feet. Then without hesitation threw his shield at Tahu hitting him in his frozen arm, shattering it to pieces. "Nooooo, You bastard!" Tahu screamed in recoil.

In rage Tahu charged at Kopaka, swinging his sword in all directions at his foe. Each strike burned Kopaka when it hit him. Then in defense Kopaka sliced at Tahu's feet knocking him off balance. As Tahu hit the ground he quickly spun around using his leg to kick Kopaka off balance. Kopaka fell to his side next to Tahu. Tahu then quickly stabbed his sword forward in an attempt to impale his enemy but Kopaka quickly countered with his shield. Tahu then immediately shot a blast of fire from his sword. Though his shield protected him from the blast, it projected Kopaka a fair distance and he smashed into a wall. As he hit the ground, rumbling was heard. Kopaka flipped over onto his back to see an avalanche of rocks falling towards him. "Oh no…" he said in a low voice. SMASH! The rocks pinned Kopaka down from the waist down. He had nowhere to go.

Tahu approached his fallen enemy and just stared at him. By this time Tahu's left arm had already regenerated (grown back). Tahu never intended to kill Kopaka especially not in such a dishonorable way. "I have been defeated. Finish me now if you wish." Kopaka said lowering his head. "No" Tahu replied. He then used his sword to blast the rocks off of him. "Why?" Kopaka asked with a confused look on his face. "It is very noble of you to admit defeat. However, it was never my intention to kill you or fight you for that matter. I was only defending myself." Tahu replied. He then proceeded to help Kopaka up. "I apologize for my behavior. I suppose I overreacted. Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Kopaka, Toa of Ice." "Interesting" Tahu replied. "How so?" he said. "I am also a Toa. The Toa of Fire. Have you ever run into anyone similar to us?" Tahu asked. "Not anybody other than you." he replied.

"I was heading up the mountain to get a better view of the island before I ran into you." Kopaka said. "Well then we might as well continue that way since I've got no where better to go." Tahu said. "I'd prefer to go alone." Kopaka said with a serious tone. "Shut up and let's go." Tahu said in response. Kopaka gave him an annoyed look, then they proceeded to travel up the mountain.

A few hours later as they were hiking, Kopaka noticed something at the bottom of a ridge. It was a gathering of four figures. "There's a gathering of something down there." Kopaka said as he stopped and pointed. Tahu looked confused. "What are you talking about? All I see is this wall. How do you see it?" Kopaka pointed at his mask. "X-Ray vision." he said. "That wall is a ridge. If we climb it we can go down on the other side." Kopaka continued.

When they reached the top of the ridge Tahu saw what Kopaka had been talking about. It was a gathering of four strange figures. He couldn't make out any detail but he could see that one was black, one was blue, one was green, and one was brown. "That's them." Kopaka said. "Yes, I see." Tahu responded." "But the question is, are they enemies, or friends?"

To be continued…

Notes: Well that's the end of the first chapter. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2: The Quest for the Masks

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 2: The Quest for the Masks

"Where are we going anyways?" Lewa said impatiently. Everyone was starting to get really pissed off with that question. "I swear to Mata Nui, if you ask that one more goddamn time I'm gonna….." Gali suddenly cut Onua off. "Calm down Onua. And for the last time Lewa, Turaga Nokama asked me to gather all of you up to meet her in a temple in Ga-Wahi." "Who is Turaga Nokama?" Kopaka asked "She is the elder of the village Ga-Koro." "So there are villages here? How come we haven't seen any yet?" Tahu asked with curiosity. "I think the villages are pretty small in comparison to the island itself. This is just a guess though. All she really told me was a little about her, the village and for me to get all of you guys and bring you to the temple." She explained. "Please Mata Nui, let us get there soon." Kopaka thought to himself impatiently.

As they were walking up a hill they noticed the top of a structure. "Thank Mata, finally!" Pohatu said. He quickly ran up ahead. Pohatu's Kakama, the mask of speed, made it very easy for him to get ahead. Lewa had already levitated ahead as well. The other four Toa had reached the steps of the temple shortly after. "So this is it huh? Onua said. It was a fairly large structure made of stone with a dome shaped roof. It had many plants growing over it so it looked a slight colour of green. It sat near the edge of a cliff over looking the ocean.

"Finally you guys got here! I thought it was gonna take you forever to get up that hill." Pohatu said laughing. "Shut up Pohatu." Gali said sternly. Pohatu immediately stopped laughing. "Sorry about that but, I was only playing around. No need to get so mad." He said with a grin. "So do we knock or let ourselves in?" Tahu asked. "Well I say we knock." Lewa said approaching the very large stone doors. Lewa was about to knock when suddenly it started to open. They all stared waiting to see who was behind the door.

"Ah, you're finally here. We were beginning to think you wouldn't be showing up" A small red and orange being holding a fire staff said. "My name is Turaga Vakama, please come in. We have much to discuss." They then proceeded to enter the temple. Inside the temple was dark except for windows on the walls. There was a ray of light in the centre as well, that shown from a large opening in the ceiling onto a circular stone table with six chairs around it. Occupying five of the chairs were what they could only assume to be the other Turaga. "Somehow I had the inkling that this would be a sacred place." Onua said looking around. "But as it would appear by the emptiness, it is not." He continued. "That is true Onua. This is only in fact a meeting place where we discuss different matters in our villages. So, it is an important place, but not a sacred one." Vakama stated.

"How did you know his name?" Gali asked. "We know more than you think." Nokama said. "Yes but before we explain I would like introduce us properly." Vakama told her. "As you already know I am Turaga Vakama, and I am elder of the valcano village Ta-Koro. She is Turaga Nokama, elder of the seaside village Ga-Koro. He is Turaga Matau, elder of the tree-top village of Le-Koro, he is Turaga Onewa of the desert village Po-Koro, he is Turaga Nuju of the mountain village Ko-Koro and finally, he is Turaga Whenua of the subterranean village Onu-Koro." Vakama said as he pointed to each person. "We have been waiting for you to arrive, mighty heroes!" Onewa said.

"Pardon?" Tahu said in surprise. "What do you mean heroes?" "Do you mean to tell us that none of you know why you washed up on the shores of Mata Nui?" Matau asked. The Toa all shook their heads. "Maybe we should tell it from the beginning then." said Whenua.

"This is how the legend goes. Long ago the Great Spirit Mata Nui created this island as a place for his people, the Matoran, to live. We assume that Mata Nui created us himself since there are no known records of Matoran traveling to Mata Nui that we know of. The Matoran loved and worshipped Mata Nui for giving us such a lush and peaceful place to live, but a dark shadow was slowly looming over this island paradise. Makuta the Dark Spirit, and brother Mata Nui, was growing ever jealous of his brothers worship and started to plot against him. His power could not compare to that of his brother so he decided to use trickery instead, by putting his brother under a dark spell that made him fall into a deep slumber. Using infected Kanohi masks he controls vicious Rahi to wreak havoc upon the citizens of Mata Nui. But legend had it that one day six canisters would wash up on the shores of Mata Nui. Where they originated from no one knows but, we did know that within the canisters were heroes that would one day be awakened and unite to save us from the entity that is Makuta. That is the legend that has been passed down through generations of Turaga. We have heard this story since we ourselves were Matoran and our now honored to be the ones to bear witness to the birth of the Toa that will save us from the shadow that plagues our land." Vakama told them.

"You are all siblings, so you must work together when necessary, like a family." Nokama added. "So you're telling me that we are here to destroy and evil that has plagued Mata Nui for centuries? We're just supposed to go fight him just like that?" Lewa said questioning Vakama. "How do we even know where he is?" Onua added "Don't be so foolish Lewa." Matau said. "There is indeed something you must do otherwise you will fail against Makuta. Before you are ready to fight Makuta you must each gather all six Kanohi masks of power. Once you have, you must then go to the Suva in your home village. The Suva is an ancient temple that is said to house great power to the Toa that finds all of their Kanohi." "How do we know where they even are?" Gali asked. "It will not be easy unfortunately. We only have a vague idea of where some of the masks are." Nokama said. Pohatu hit himself in the head as soon as he heard the statement. "Oh shit. That's just perfect!" He said in an annoyed tone. "Yeah, you guys are really helpful." Kopaka said to himself very sarcastically. He was currently leaning against the frame of a window, looking out at the sea. "We are done telling you what you need to know." Whenua said. "We have to be heading back to our villages now. We wish you the best of luck! Be careful of the infected Rahi! They can be very dangerous and Makuta will most likely be using them to try and stop you from getting masks! Come by the villages anytime and we will assist as best we can!" they said as they left the temple.

The Toa then left the temple as well, and gathered outside to recap on what had just transpired. "What should we do now?" Tahu asked. "I suggest that since we are finding our own masks we should split up and find them ourselves." Onua said. "But I really think we should work together on this." Gali responded. "What's the point? Kopaka and Lewa are already gone anyways." Pohatu added. And with that, he was gone as well. "I'll see you guys around then." Onua said as he left. This left just Tahu and Gali alone. "What do you think of all this?" Gali asked. "Well if this is our purpose on this island then I say we do what we were sent here to do." He replied. "I suppose you're right. Goodbye then Tahu, I'll be seeing you." Gali said before she dove off of the cliff and into the sea. "Time to get searching." He said. Tahu then proceeded to leave the temple grounds.

Later…..

Onua found himself walking above the surface in Onu-Wahi. He was searching for a mask that an Onu-Matoran claimed to have seen lodged in the side of a cliff. There were no tunnels at that time that went this far, which is why he had to walk on the surface. He had been able to see the cliff for a while. He was just taking his time in getting there. When he finally got close he indeed saw a mask. It was an Akaku, the mask of X-ray vision. "I guess that Matoran wasn't a fool like the other ones said after all. Good thing I listened to him." Onua said as he started to walk towards the mask.

Onua was about 10 metres away from it when without warning he felt an immense pain on the right side of his body as he was flung like a rag doll. "Errrr…" he grunted, getting back on his feet to identify what had gored him. Standing before him was an infected Kane-Ra bull. "This is going to be interesting." He said. He readied himself and stared the bull in the eyes. They both started to move sideways in a clockwise direction never taking their eyes off each other, waiting. Onua didn't know when it would strike again. He had to keep his attention on the bull.

It charged at him again but he quickly dodged it. It turned around and continued to charge. "Guess I'll have to grab the bull by the horns." Onua said with a grin. He stood his ground, readying his large clawed arms to catch the bulls head when it hits him. The Kane-Ra smashed into him. Onua tried to push it back with his great strength but he was skidding backwards while still on his feet, holding its head. He looked back to see himself heading towards the side of the cliff. "Oh shit! If I don't do something quick I'm gonna get sandwiched!" He thought to himself.

Onua then put more strength into his legs and arms trying harder to push back. It started to slow down. "Time….to…. STOP!" with great force he lifted and pushed the bull, sending it flying backwards. The Kane-Ra let out a roar as it was flung backwards, landing on its side. Onua turned around to see that he was inches from the wall. "That was too close." He said with relief. "Now to finish this." He said turning his attention back to the bull.

The bull lay stunned on the ground, slowly getting back up. Onua quickly ran over and jumped landing on its head, pinning it back down. He jumped off and started rapidly punching it in the head. "RRRRRAAAAHHHH!" he yelled while continuously punching its head. The Kane-Ra let out a cry as Onua unleashed punches down upon it. Onua then stopped. He was panting immensely. He looked down at his claws. They were soaked in the Kane-Ra's blood. He tensed his fists then grabbed the bull's horns. He spun around and threw the bull. It went such a great distance that it went over the cliff. "Now I know its dead." He said with satisfied smile on his face. Maybe slight overkill, but he wanted to be sure.

Onua then climbed the cliff until he reached the mask. He then ripped it out from the rock wall. He put it on. It melded with his own mask, enabling him to switch between it and his Pakari, the mask of strength. "One more down. Four more to go." He said. He then continued climbing the cliff, continuing his search.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Ga-Wahi…

The Tarakava struck its mighty forearm towards Gali, but she quickly dodged it, swimming upwards. The rock wall that was behind Gali smashed when the Tarakava's forearm hit it. She watched the creature as see moved upwards through the water, unaware of the other Tarakava about to strike her from behind. It rammed into Gali with great force and smashed her into the sandy bottom of the ocean. The two Tarakava waited till the dust settled. When it did, Gali was nowhere in site. The Tarakavas looked around in all directions. No Gali.

Suddenly Gali came bursting out of the sand and lunged at one of them. She tackled it to the ground using her hooked claws to dig into its flesh. She hacked away at it until it no longer moved. As she turned around the other Tarakava swam at her chomping down upon her torso. Bubbles came out of Gali's mouth as she let out a cry of pain. She could see her blood leaking out of her bite wounds. With Gali still in its mouth, the Tarakava smashed her into a rock ledge. It let go and swam a bit backwards waiting to see if it had succeeded in killing Gali.

Using her strong legs she kicked off of the smashed wall and tackled down the Tarakava. As they tumbled through the water Gali got on top, and kicked the serpent down, sending it smashing into the sea floor. "Huh?" Gali thought to herself as she looked at the infected Kakama in her hand. It appeared to her that in the struggle, she had unintentionally ripped it off. She then looked at the Tarakava which after getting back up fled the area as if nothing had happened.

"That was weird." She thought to herself as she picked up and put on the Pakari she was trying to acquire before the Tarakavas attacked her. When she got back on shore she suddenly started to feel very light headed. Gali then winced from the pain of her wounds realizing that she had lost a fair amount of blood. Thinking it would be a wise thing to do, she decided to go back to Ga-Koro to mend her wounds.

When she got there she received medical assistance from a Matoran named Maku. "Maku, could you do me a favour?" Gali asked politely. "Yes Toa Gali. What do you wish for me to do?" Maku said. "First off, you do not have to be so formal just because I'm a Toa. Just call me Gali." She said. "Ok sure." Maku said. "Ok. Now could you please get Turaga Nokama for me? I need to talk to her." Gali requested. "Of course, I'll be right back." Maku said. "Oh, and thanks for the help." Gali thanked her. "No problem." Maku replied smiling.

A short time later Maku returned with Turaga Nokama. "I'm back." Maku said not realizing that Gali was asleep. Gali stirred then woke up. "Uhhhh, sorry that fight wore me down a little. Is Nokama here?" she asked tiredly. "Yes I am. I heard you wanted to talk to me." She said. "Yes, I did. I was wondering why a Tarakava stopped fighting me when the infected mask came off?" Gali inquired. "Oh, there's a very simple explanation for that. When the infected mask on a Rahi is removed, the Rahi will stop its violent actions and usually retreat. Sometimes they can even be tamed. But, some of them are just naturally aggressive. The Tarakava probably left because its partner was killed." Nokama explained. "That's useful information. I'll keep it in mind next time I encounter an infected Rahi. It'll save me a lot of trouble. Thanks." Gali said cheerfully. I'd better leave now since I'm all patched up. Thanks again Maku." And with that Gali left the hut.

Just leaving Le-Koro….

"WOOHOO!" Lewa yelled in the thrill of swinging and flipping from vine to vine. "If I find the Kakama that Turaga Matau was talking about then I'll be able to fly." (Levitation + SpeedFlight) He flipped off of a vine and landed on a branch. Using his feet he grinded along the twisting and turning branch until he reached the end, where he grabbed onto another vine and did a full circular spin before letting go and landing on a rock ledge surrounding a waterfall.

He surveyed the area. "Matau said there was a cave covered in vines somewhere near here." Suddenly faint buzzing noise could be heard. "What the hell is that sound?" Lewa said. He then levitated to the canopy to get a better look. "Oh…..crap." he said with concern in his voice. Off in the distance were what appeared to be a swarm of Nui-Rama, heading right for him. "Why me?" he asked himself, as he braced himself for the swarm.

"Wait for it…" he said as they got closer to him. When they got close enough to him, he quickly dove off of the tree, heading for the water filled bottom below. As he fell he swiftly turned around, looking up at the swarm. Using his wind elemental powers, he sent a cyclone of wind at them. It knocked off a few but there were many more, and they started to dive bomb right at him.

Using levitation, he stopped himself right above the surface of the water. When the Nui-Rama in front came close enough he moved out of the way, causing them to plunge into the water. "Stupid bugs." He said to himself laughing. Lewa's attention then turned back to the rest of the swarm. They were now circling around him in all directions, forming a huge ball. One by one they started darting at him from random locations. Lewa managed to dodge some but they were too unpredictable. As they hit him they left slashes and deep cuts in him, weakening him slowly. He started hacking at them with is axe. Lewa managed to hack a few out of the sky but, there were just too many. "At this rate they're gonna kill me first. Gotta think of someway out of this" He said.

Lewa made an attempt to dive into the water as a last resort. He personally hated water but desperate times call for this sort of thing. An orange Nui-Rama caught him though, and started to fly towards the swarm, which was now in a big clump in the sky. "They're gonna rip me to shreds!" he yelled. In the nick of time he got his arm that holds his axe free and chopped at the bug's wing. They spiraled down towards a wall in the circular canyon surrounding the water fall and lake. They smashed through a wall of thick plants and vines.

Lewa woke up some time later. He had no idea how long he had been out. The Nui-Rama that had grabbed him was dead from the crash and lying on top of him. He quickly got it off and stood up, wiping the bug guts off of himself. Lewa could still hear the buzzing of the swarm outside, "Man, these things never give up!" he said.

He then noticed behind him exactly what he had been looking for. "The mask of speed! Yes!" he said with excitement. Lewa then put it on. Switching from his Miru to the Kakama he then ran and jumped out the cave entrance. "Time to fly." He said. But to his surprise he could not. "Oh shit! I can't use them both at once!" luckily he hit the water before the swarm got to him. Lewa looked around under the water and saw a tunnel. "That's my ticket out of here." He thought to himself. Using his newly found mask of speed, he swam like a torpedo through the water and to his escape.

Somewhere in Po-Wahi…

Pohatu was running threw the barren wasteland that is Po-Wahi. He did not know the location of a mask. He was just enjoying running on the flat plain. It was his place. Pohatu felt very at peace here among the sand and stone, just running like the wind. Pohatu suddenly decided to stop, not for any particular reason really, only to take a little rest. "I wonder how the others are doing in their search." Pohatu thought to himself out loud. He was just walking over to a rock formation. It looked like a small jagged mountain. As he admired the formation his attention got diverted to a boulder in front of it. A grin appeared on his face.

Pohatu kicked the boulder with his powerful leg, sending it crashing into the formation. Satisfied with this random act of destruction, he turned around and continued to walk. As he turned he heard a rock crumble from the rubble. Pohatu turned his attention back to it. Emerging from the rubble was many Nui-Jaga. A nest of infected ones had been disturbed. Pohatu could hear the sound of what appeared to be breaking glass. More and more kept coming out of the hole. "That was a bad idea." He said with worry in his voice. "Running would be a good idea right about now!"

Pohatu was about to flea from what seemed to him to be a pointless battle, when he saw something sparkle among the mass of Nui-Jaga. It was a mask of shielding. "Oh crap! Why now?" he said "Guess I have no choice but to fight." He continued. Pohatu then dashed at the pack of scorpion creatures. "I'll have to do this quickly." He said as he kicked one in the face, imploding it with his large foot. Being the Toa of stone he is very heavy. When Pohatu kicks someone, it's like hitting them with a boulder. He was attacking the pack of Nui-Jaga, making his way to the mask. One of the scorpions jumped at him. Pohatu quickly turned and kicked a boulder at it, crushing its carapace and sending it flying.

As he did that one of the scorpions thrust its stinger at him. Its poisonous point went digging into his back, injecting him with the deadly venom. "AAAAAHHHHHH!" Pohatu screamed in agony. He started feeling weaker and dizzy as the poison started taking affect, but Pohatu wasn't prepared to give up just yet. He continued his way threw the crowd of them, kicking and slamming them around desperately trying to get his mask. Unfortunately the poison made his reaction time really bad. The Nui-Jaga's were snapping their claws and thrusting their stingers at him injecting their venom and drawing blood each time.

Pohatu's vision started to blur as the stingers spread their poison throughout his body. Pohatu tried to kick one that was right in front of him. His vision was so distorted though, that he missed the creature completely. It jabbed its stinger into Pohatu's chest. He fell over onto is back. Rolling over onto his stomach, he made an attempt to get back up, but to no avail. He lay their helpless, too weak to get up, as the Nui-Jaga's started to surround him. "No…. I don't….want to die….like this, so….soon." Pohatu said with the last bit of strength in his body. The last thing he heard was the loud crumbling of rocks, before fading into unconsciousness.

Pohatu woke up in a daze. It appeared to be nighttime and there was a fire nearby, which was a couple feet away from him. He looked around confused. Pohatu still felt sick from the poison. As far as Pohatu could tell, he was still in Po-Wahi. "What's going on?" he said in a voice of low disorientation. "I thought I was dead for sure." He said sighing. "Oh, your finally awake." Someone behind him said. Pohatu jumped in surprise, quickly looking behind him. It was Onua. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna make it." Onua said with a faint smile. He was happy Pohatu wasn't dead, though you could barely tell.

Onua was dragging some unidentified Rahi. It was too mangled to really see what it was. "What in the hell is that?" Pohatu asked with great question on his face. Onua paused for a second. "Dinner." He said after the few moments' hesitation. Onua then slung it over the fire. Letting it cook. He then sat down.

"What happened back there?" Pohatu asked. "I was traveling underground when I saw mounds of Nui-Jaga moving up to the surface. I also heard you screaming in agony at one point. I poked my head out of the hole to see what was up. I saw you getting repeatedly getting stung by them. So I dug a pit fall which caved in killing the Nui-Jaga, or at least leaving them stunned anyways. I grabbed you and fled, to get you to safety." Onua told him. "I guess I owe you one big time Onua." Pohatu said thankfully. "Don't worry about it." Onua responded.

After a short period of silence Onua suddenly said, "Oh, before I forget. I believe this is yours." He said holding out the Hau that Pohatu was previously trying to acquire. "You take it." Pohatu said. "I don't deserve it." He added with shame in his voice. "Nonsense!" Onua shouted. "I guarantee that no Toa in our group could have done any better than you did in a situation like that. Remember when Nokama said we need to work together when necessary? Well that would have been a necessary time for us to work together. None of us could have done that single handedly. Now shut up and take the mask!" Onua exclaimed, gesturing again for Pohatu to take the mask. Pohatu didn't respond for a couple seconds, and then he simply said, "Ok, if you insist." He then took the mask and put it on. "Now let's eat. The food looks done, and I'm starved." Pohatu said. They then began to eat the Rahi.

Meanwhile, in an unknown cavern in Le-Wahi…

Tahu rolled out of the way as the Muaka outstretched its neck in an attempt to chomp down upon him. The Muaka's head smashed into the rock wall when it missed. "Damn, I've been fighting this thing for hours and it still won't quit." Tahu said panting. He charged at it again slicing his sword at the tiger like creature. It let out a roar as the fire sword burned its flesh. In anger it quickly turned and slashed Tahu with its large claws.

The Muaka's claws slashed Tahu's chest, leaving two large gashes across it. Tahu leapt backwards in recoil, giving himself distance from the tiger-like creature and, a few moments to recover. He winced as he looked down at the large wound across his chest. "It's not too deep. I should be fine." He said observing the wound. However, Tahu should have paid more attention to the Muaka. He suddenly felt the jaws of the Muaka chomp down upon him. Tahu screamed in pain as it shook him back and forth in its mouth.

It then tossed him into a wall. He smashed into the wall, causing bits of it to crumble; he then fell to the floor. The Muaka started to approach Tahu. It could see that he was not moving. When it got close enough it started to open its mouth, preparing to devour Tahu. Then in the blink of an eye, Tahu got up and thrust is sword towards the Muaka's mouth. He shot a powerful blast of fire right into the mouth of the beast. It roared in pain as it was projected backwards from the volcanic blast. Tahu slowly got back to his feet and then observed the Muaka. Smoke was coming out of its mouth and it was not moving. Feeling that he had finally defeated the creature, Tahu continued down the passage.

In surprise the Muaka pounced on Tahu pinning him to the ground. "Damn! I thought I was rid of you!" he yelled, feeling the pressure on his chest. Its claws were lightly digging into him as well. "I've had enough of this!" Tahu shouted at it, freeing his arm that held his sword.

Tahu slashed his sword at the left arm of the beast, severing it. The Muaka leapt off of Tahu in writhing pain. Tahu ran towards it and jumped, did a flip, and landed on its back, stabbing his sword into it as he landed. The Muaka roared so loudly in pain that it was almost at the level of a sonic boom. It then let out a low yelp, as it fell to the ground and died. "Phew!" Tahu said in relief. His feeling of relief was cut short by the sound of rumbling. The whole tunnel started to shake and rocks from the ceiling started falling rapidly. "Oh, shit! With its last ounce of strength it must have roared loudly in an attempt to cave in the tunnel! I have to get to the end quick" Tahu said.

Tahu started to sprint down the passage. "I'm gonna kill that Matoran if he's wrong about this!" he said as he was running. He started to see a wall at the end of the tunnel. As he got to the end he saw what seemed to be a small shrine surrounding a Miru, the mask of levitation. "Jackpot!" he said satisfied that this whole experience wasn't a waste of time. Tahu put on the mask and then turned his attention back to the fact that the ceiling was collapsing. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." He said chuckling uneasily. Tahu started to run when he heard a smash behind him. A giant boulder had fallen and was heading his way. "Oh shit! Just my day!" Tahu said sarcastically, as he was running

Tahu was running for a long time, and the boulder was slowly catching up to him. Rocks were falling everywhere as well. He was dodging rocks while still trying to keep up his speed. Suddenly he saw a distant light at the end of the long tunnel. "I hope I can make this!" he said with urgency. When he was just about a couple feet away from the exit Tahu looked back to see how far away the boulder was, and as he did this he tripped and fell, over one of the fallen rocks.

While he was falling forward he landed on his hands and did a flip forward and out of the tunnel. When he hit the ground on the outside he quickly rolled out of the way of the entrance and watched the boulder roll out and stop, smashing into a bunch of large trees. Tahu let out a sigh of relief. He was incredibly tired so he collapsed and fell asleep, right in the spot he was lying in.

Meanwhile, on the icy cliffs of Ko-Wahi…

"Thank you for letting me join you on your search Toa Kopaka." Matoro said with excitement. "I didn't. You just won't leave." Kopaka said with great aggravation in his voice. "So where did Turaga Nuju say the mask was anyways?" Matoro asked. "He said it was in a "place of far seeing", so naturally I assumed it would be at the top or somewhere around the mountain." Kopaka replied.

As they walked up the upwards spiraling path, it suddenly stopped at a perfectly vertical cliff of ice. "Guess we're gonna have to climb." Kopaka said. "Nope, we don't have to do that." Matoro said. "What do you mean?" Kopaka asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know a short cut." Matoro said. He then hit the wall in three places and a doorway opened. "It's our village's secret way to get to the top of the mountain." Matoro said. Kopaka shrugged his shoulders, and proceeded to follow Matoro into the passage. The door slammed down shut behind them.

The passage turned into stairs leading upwards. They were made of pure ice so it was a little difficult to get proper footing. The tunnel was very narrow; it was only about a little bit larger than arms length. They walked for about half an hour until they reached a dead end. "No problem." Matoro said simply. He once again hit three different places and another doorway opened. They stepped outside to the crisp cold air of the mountain. Once again the door slammed shut behind them. They were at the base of the peak of the mountain. The very peak of it was still about 25 feet upwards. "Wow." Kopaka said admiring the view. "This is defiantly a place of far seeing." Kopaka continued.

"Look up there! It's a mask!" Matoro said pointing at the peak. "Hmmm?" Kopaka said turning his attention to where Matoro was pointing. He saw what Matoro was pointing at. It was indeed a mask. It was a Kaukau, the mask of under water breathing. "How are you going to get it?" Matoro asked. Kopaka didn't respond. He just observed the mask. Matoro wasn't sure if he was thinking or lost in his own little world. "Uh, Kopaka?" he said. Kopaka suddenly shot a blast of ice that pretty much made a walkway from where he was standing to where the mask was.

Kopaka made his way towards the mask. He tried pulling it out. It was a little stuck at first but he managed to pull it out with minimal hassle, and put it on. Kopaka walked back down to where Matoro was. "That was a little too easy." Kopaka said suspiciously. "Maybe you just g…." Matoro was suddenly snatched in the arms of a Nui-Rama. It flew over the edge and started to dive bomb. "Kopaka, help me!" Matoro screamed, his voice echoing and becoming more distant. Kopaka ran and dove off of the cliff after the Nui-Rama. He suddenly thought to himself, "I should've thought this through a little better. It's gonna pull up and if I don't do something this might end badly for me!"

The Nui-Rama indeed did pull up, giving Kopaka not much time to react. Using quick wit he created and ice slide. Landing on his feet in such a way that he would not be overly harmed, he used his sword to continue the slide, using his feet to grind along it. Kopaka was slowly starting to catch up with the Nui-Rama. When Kopaka got close enough, he leapt off of the slide and landed on the back of the Nui-Rama. This greatly irritated the flying bug. It shook back and forth in an attempt to pry Kopaka off, but he managed to stay on.

Though Matoro was in the Nui-Rama's clutches, his arms were free. Kopaka put his shield away. "Grab my hand!" he yelled to Matoro. Matoro then thrust his arm to Kopaka's, and got a grip. "Now hold on tight, and what ever you do, don't let go!" Kopaka instructed him. Holding onto Matoro with his left hand, he stabbed his ice sword into the Nui-Rama. The sword froze the bug inside and out, killing it almost instantly. "You're grounded." Kopaka said to it with a smirk. He kicked it downwards towards the ground. He was no longer on the ground. "You okay, Matoro?" Kopaka asked put him on his shoulders. "Yea, I should be fine." Matoro responded. "Good because you'd better brace yourself because this is going to hurt!" Kopaka yelled at him.

Meanwhile back in Ko-Koro. "Do you think they found the mask you spoke of, Turaga Nuju?" a Matoran named Kopice asked. "I don't know Kopice. We'll have to see when they get back. "What if they don't come back though?" Kopice continued. "I have much faith in Kopaka's abilities. I believe they will return in one piece." Nuju said. Suddenly the faint sound of screaming was heard. "What the hell is that noise?" Kopice asked looking around. The sound got louder until, something smashed right into the snowy ground in front of them. Both Nuju and Kopice stood there speechless. They observed the crater to see Matoro rise out of it. He looked dazed and disoriented. He then snapped out of it and, with a look of shear thrill in his face said, "That was awesome! I have never had this much fun in my life!"

Kopaka slowly rose out of the small crater, grunting from the pain of the impact. Nuju and the two Matoran looked at Kopaka without saying anything. They didn't say anything because they were scared. Kopaka had the nastiest look on his face, anyone could ever see and he was breathing heavily. "THIS IS WHY I DON'T WANT MATORAN COMING ALONG WITH ME! THEN I HAVE TO RISK MY ASS WHENEVER THEY GET IN TROUBLE!" Kopaka yelled furiously at Matoro. He then turned around and left the village, not looking back. The sudden loudness from his rant had scared both Kopice and Matoro off of there feet, where they lay sitting in the snow. Matoro didn't know how to respond to it at all. "Kopaka is colder than the ice itself. He truly is Toa of ice." Nuju said simply, turning around and walking away.

To be continued…

Well that's the end of the second chapter. Please Review.


	3. Chapter 3: Confrontation

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Note: Yet again another time skip. The Toa have found all their masks at this point. From this point on these time skips will become much less frequent since it's getting more into the story. So they will only really be used when I feel it is necessary. Finally, my first original character will be introduced in this chapter! Hope you like the latest chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 3: Confrontation 

All six Toa found themselves walking on a dirt path underneath the village of Le-Koro. The village had been built up in the trees so the Matoran would be protected from predatory Rahi. The Toa were accompanied by at least twenty Le-Matoran as well as Turaga Matau. The path was shadowed due to the village being above them.

All the Toa were wearing golden masks. Tahu was wearing a golden Hau, Gali was wearing a golden Kaukau, Pohatu was wearing a golden Kakama, Onua was wearing a golden Pakari and Kopaka was wearing a golden Akaku. The only one that wasn't wearing a golden mask was Lewa. That is what they were heading out to change.

They could see Lewa's Suva up ahead. It looked like a large pedestal surrounded by six pillars, with a large hemi-sphere in the middle with a 5m diameter. In front of it, etched in the rock was the symbol of the three virtues; Unity, Duty, Destiny. On top of each pillar was a stone copy of each mask of power, mounted on a statue of a Toa head. They all faced inward, towards the hemi-sphere.

They soon reached the foot of the pedestal. It was sunny now because the Suva was in a small clearing. There were three steps that led to the main platform of it. Lewa walked up the three steps and stopped, looking back at Turaga Matau for guidance. "Lewa, you must stand on the symbol of the three virtues." Matau told him. Lewa then looked at his Toa siblings. They just stood there silently, staring up at Lewa with serious expressions on all their faces. It made him strangely uncomfortable.

Lewa proceeded to step on the symbol. When he did he could see the eyes of each head on the pillars light up, one-by-one. Once they all lit up, they each shot a beam of energy from their eyes down at the hemi-sphere. The sudden blast made Lewa flinch, shielding himself with his arms for a brief second. Lewa heard Pohatu laugh at him. "Shut up, Pohatu." Lewa said annoyed. Pohatu stopped, but still had a grin on his face.

As soon as the blasts stopped there was a crumbling noise as the hemi-sphere slowly started to shift, revealing a stairway which lead downward to the unknown. "Go on in." Tahu said with an encouraging smile on his face. Lewa then proceeded to enter the stairway.

The stairway had indentations in the wall which held torches to light his way. It was damp and chilly in the stairway despite how hot it was on the surface, it being a rain-forest type region. When he reached the bottom, he entered a completely dark chamber. "What the…" he said in confusion. Suddenly there was an extremely bright light coming from the other side of the chamber. On a small shrine, in a little impression in the wall on the other side of the chamber was a golden Miru. Lewa ran over to it and picked it up. He started to tremble with excitement. "The others said that it allows me to use all of the kanohi at once! You know what that means!" he said to himself with a playful smile on his face. He then put it on, melding it with all the other masks that he wore.

"I wonder what's taking him so long." Onua said rather impatiently. "He just better not do what I think he's gonna do." Gali said with slight concern. Lewa suddenly went flying out of the stairway. "Yes, I can finally fly! WOOOOHOOO!" Lewa screamed, his voice becoming fainter as he flew off into the distance. "Yup, he did it." Kopaka said breaking the silence. "Damn it." Gali said in a frustrated voice. Using her mask, she then took off after Lewa.

Lewa stopped high above the island, admiring the view. "I can finally fly just like the wind!" he said cheerfully. He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was immediately hit in the face. Gali had punched him with the knuckle of her claw. "What the hell was that for!" he yelled at her, holding his cheek. "For being an idiot! We have a very important responsibility, which for some reason you never want to take seriously!" She screamed at him in aggravation. "Geez, can't I have a little fun once in a while? Who are you to tell me not to enjoy myself?" Lewa said to her with a grimace, before heading back to the group. Gali hung her head and sighed before proceeding to follow Lewa. "When will he learn?"

When she arrived she could see Lewa was already standing among them. "Now that you're back I would like to give you all something before you confront Makuta." Matau said. "He will no doubt have minions waiting for you before you confront him. There is a strong possibility you all might get badly hurt before the final battle itself, which is why I will give you these." Matau held out a small bag a little bigger than his fist. "What is it?" Tahu asked curiously. "These are bulla berries. Their juices contain restorative properties. When eaten, a warrior will no doubt heal, and be fully recovered in a certain amount of time, depending on the level of damage they have taken." Matau explained handing the bag to Gali.

"Wow, thank you!" Gali said great fully. Though Kopaka should have been thankful as well, he didn't look pleased. "Why is it that you just decided to give these to us now? There were times where they would have been very useful before." he said with an unpleasant look on his face. Matau didn't know how to respond to his statement. He started to feel very uncomfortable and slightly ashamed. "Don't pester him Kopaka!" Tahu said, butting in. "You're fine right now and that's what matters. Don't dwell on the past like that and be thankful!" Tahu continued. "Thank you, Matau. Now we should all be leaving." Tahu concluded. The Toa then left the Suva, heading towards the supposed entrance to Makuta's lair; Mangaia. "Good luck!" Matau yelled to them.

The Toa traveled to a location of a shrine in a forest at the base of Mount Ihu. It was said by the Turaga that this was most likely the entrance to Mangaia since they didn't know its purpose. It looked to them to be similar to a Suva only there were no pillars, and the hemi-sphere had six indentations on it, with Toa faces in them. Above each indentation was a different word; Ta, Ga, Le, Po, Onu, and Ko. Each Toa stood in front of their corresponding word. "You guys ready?" Tahu said with anticipation. They all nodded their heads. They then took off their masks and placed them on the stone Toa faces on the monument. "You too, Lewa" Onua said impatiently. Lewa didn't have a good feeling about this. He sighed then put his in as well.

There was a shine of light coming from behind each mask. When it stopped the Toa took their masks, and put them back on. "You see, Lewa?" Pohatu said. "No sweat." He continued, patting Lewa on the back as they all started to enter the newly opened passageway.

There were no stairs. It was just a stone path leading downwards into an abyss of darkness. As they traveled down the passage Tahu held up his sword and lit it to be used as a torch enabling them to see. "There is a thick miasma of shadow energy here." Kopaka mentioned. "Yes I feel it too." Onua said cautiously. They could all feel it. It gave them a feeling of uneasiness. It seemed to engulf their entire bodies, putting pressure on their ribcages, making it harder to breathe.

Tahu noticed that Pohatu's eyes were racing in all directions, as if he was trying to see something. "What's wrong Pohatu?" Tahu asked with concern. "I don't…know." Pohatu responded. "I have a feeling we're not alone in this tunnel." He continued as they entered a large room.

Suddenly a large stone door fell from the ceiling of the room, blocking the doorway that connected the tunnel to the room. Tahu's sword went out when it shut. It was now pitch black. The only one that could see anything was Onua. "Onua can you see anything?" Gali asked. "Yes I can." He responded. "There's someone in here with us." Onua continued with a slight hint of fear in his voice. Suddenly a bunch of torches lit up in unison. Now they could all see it.

The figure laughed at them in a mocking tone. He was floating in the air with his arms crossed. "What's so funny?" Kopaka yelled, annoyed by the taunting. The individual stopped laughing and said, "I was just thinking about how fun it will be to tear you all to pieces!" he had an devious grin on his face. "Are you Makuta?" Lewa asked. "Because if you are, I gotta tell ya, you don't look all that impressive." He mocked. "I am not Makuta you fool! My name is Xaldin, and I'm his most powerful warrior!" he said triumphantly. (Pronounced 'ZAL-DIN' in case it confuses anybody)

Xaldin had orange eyes, and he wore an infected Hau. His arms and legs were light green and his body was white. His right arm looked normal until they saw his hand. It had an ice blade and an axe protruding from it. His other arm held a large white shield which had a glowing, light green, circular tick-tack-toe pattern on the front of it. "Let's see how you stand up to the power ice and air used as one!" Xaldin shouted.

Using the axe and sword he fired a ball of whirling air and ice at the Toa. "Scatter!" Tahu yelled. They ran in all directions to dodge the blast. The ball of elemental energy missed all of them and hit the ground, bursting on impact sending spikes of ice in all directions. Onua quickly raised walls of earth all around himself as a shield. Kopaka, using quick hand movements, rapidly blocked each spike with his shield. Tahu shrouded himself in flame melting each spike. Pohatu's thick skin prevented the spikes from causing significant damage. Lewa and Gali got it bad. The spikes sliced at their skin and stabbed into them. Onua lowered the walls of earth. "Gali!" he yelled in shock, seeing the damage she had suffered.

Onua cared very much for his sister and was often concerned for her well-being. In some ways he was a very protective brother. "I don't think so!" Xaldin yelled at Onua. He fired a net of energy out of his shield. "ERRRRRR!" Onua yelled as he was caught in the net. It forced him into the rock wall. While that kept him busy, Pohatu flew up to Xaldin and gave him a hard kick to the ribs. Xaldin bent forward in recoil but then struck Pohatu in the head with his blade/axe hand, sending him crashing onto the ground below. Pohatu was hurt by the impact but was slowly getting back up. Lewa sat kneeling on the ground, bleeding slowly out of his wounds from the spikes. "Pohatu, Lewa are you ok?" Tahu asked. "I'm fine" Pohatu said getting back up. Lewa just gave Tahu a look of sheer pain and lowered his head again.

Gali was ripping out the slowly melting spikes, getting ready to fight. Onua ripped out of the net and was getting up as well. Gali jumped at Xaldin and tackled him out of the air. They both got up and Gali started rapidly punching him in the stomach. She then jumped and gave him a cross kick to the face, sending him flying towards Onua.

Onua grabbed Xaldin by the foot and swung around and smashed him into the wall. Xaldin fell to the floor lay there holding his ribs for a second. Onua picked him up again and got ready to punch him in the face. Xaldin quickly countered by giving Onua a double kick to the chest, knocking him off of his feet. Xaldin propelled backwards from his kick and started to fly vertically, with a satisfied grin on his face, watching Onua fall to the ground. He was suddenly caught off guard by Tahu, who elbowed him in the face, sending him crashing back to the ground. Tahu stabbed his sword down towards him, but Xaldin quickly rolled out of the way. He then got up on one knee and smashed Tahu in the face with his shield. Xaldin smiled seeing the blood burst from Tahu's face from the impact. He then fired an energy net at him, keeping him out of the way for a while.

Suddenly Xaldin felt a sharp pain in his back. Gali had slashed him with one of her hooked claws. As Xaldin arched his back from the wincing pain, Kopaka came from the side and body checked him to the ground. He then fired ice at different points on Xaldin's body, pinning him to the ground. Xaldin struggled to break free but to no avail. "Who wants to finish him off?" Kopaka asked his fellow Toa. "I will." Lewa said approaching Xaldin's defenseless body. "I will grant you a painless death." Lewa said, raising his axe above his head, getting ready to sever Xaldin's head from his body.

"I think not!" Xaldin yelled freeing one of his arms. He swung he blade and severed Lewa's foot at the ankle. Lewa let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground holding his ankle which was now leaking blood. Gali knelt next to him. "Quick, eat a bulla berry." She instructed him.

Xaldin suddenly burst from his ice shackles and hit Kopaka in the stomach with his shield then kicked him away. Xaldin then turned to Gali preparing to attack, but before he could do anything, from behind, Onua grabbed him by the ankles. Onua lifted and tossed him sending him flipping through the air. Onua then jumped up and gave him a punch in the head, knocking him into a wall.

Xaldin got back onto his feet and started to charge at Onua. Tahu shot a large blast of fire from his hand. It hit Xaldin directly on the wound Gali had inflicted on his back. He fell to his knees screaming in writhing pain from the blast. Gali then looked at Kopaka. She gave him a look and he nodded his head in understanding. Gali shot water from her hands at Xaldin. As it made its way towards him Kopaka quickly froze it. It formed and enormous spike of ice which went right through Xaldin and pushed him back, pinning him to the wall. Xaldin cried in pain as his blood poured out of his large wound. Lewa then approached Xaldin's pinned body. "You…may have defeated me…Toa. But you will…NEVER…defeat…Makuta!" Xaldin said to them. "Shut up. Just be thankful I'm letting you die quickly." Lewa said before swinging his axe into Xaldin's neck. "Lewa stop!" Gali shouted. But it was too late. Xaldin's head rolled off of his shoulders and fell to the floor. Blood sprayed out of his neck and ran down his body.

"Why did you tell me to stop Gali?" This greatly confused Lewa. Xaldin was one of Makuta's followers. Why did she not want him dead? "He was wearing an infected mask. He could've survived the impalement and we could have helped him!" "But he was a creation of Makuta himself!" Lewa argued. "But you don't know that for sure! For all we know he could have been a Matoran once!" Gali responded. Lewa was mad, but couldn't help realizing the fact that Gali was right. None of them knew of Xaldin's past. He could have been Matoran…once.

"But he was made up of two elements Gali, how would that be possible?" Onua questioned. "Enough of this!" Kopaka butted in. "What's done is done! No matter how much we argue its not gonna bring him back anyways. Now let's get moving!" Kopaka told them. The doorway that they entered through slowly opened again as well as a door on the other side. "Let's go." Tahu said. They then left the chamber leaving Xaldin's corpse pinned to the wall. But Gali still felt a bad feeling deep down inside her that they had made a wrong choice that day.

The tunnel proceeded to go downward more and the miasma of shadow energy started to get thicker. They entered another chamber. This one was pitch black as well. Suddenly blue torches started lighting one by one along the circular wall until a nearly complete circle was made. There were many strange objects and devices throughout the room, but the centre formed some sort of arena that was completely clear. All of a sudden, in the middle of the arena, appeared a small black Matoran. His mask was very rusty and he was wheezing. "You've got to be kidding me!" Kopaka yelled. "You can not tell me this is Makuta!" Pohatu added.

"Oh, but I am." Makuta said. He started to laugh in a very raspy way. He then tensed his body and let out a roar as he started to transform into a monstrous tentacled entity. "This may not be my true form, but it will suffice." Makuta said. "This is not good." Onua said. Kopaka jumped up at Makuta getting ready to slash his ice blade at him. One of the tentacles caught Kopaka and rapped around his arms and torso and started to squeeze. "AAAAHHHHH!" Kopaka screamed in pain. Onua quickly flew up and latched onto the tentacle trying to rip it off. Tahu was blasting Makuta with fire on various parts of his body and Lewa was trying to hack at the tentacle that held Kopaka. A loud crunching noise was heard as the tentacle crushed the bones in Kopaka's arms. Kopaka's cry of agony chilled the bones of all the other Toa.

Makuta then smacked Lewa and Onua off of him with other tentacles and threw Kopaka to the floor. Gali ran up to Kopaka. He was out cold. She quickly squeezed the juices of a bulla berry into his mouth. "I hope that helps." She said looking down at him with great concern.

Using debris and bits of rock, Pohatu formed a boulder and hurled it at Makuta. He simply smacked it away with ease. Lewa suddenly noticed that a ball of shadow energy was gathering above Makuta, and it looked ready to burst. "Heads up!" Lewa yelled in an attempt to warn the others. The ball burst firing millions of small rays of shadow energy in all directions. Each Toa got bombarded with blasts. After the blast ended the Toa lay smoldering on the ground.

"This is bad." Tahu thought to himself lying on the ground. In all his travels searching for the masks he had never fought anything that didn't at least have some apparent weakness. But Makuta seemed to be completely invulnerable! Tahu started to feel angry. "Even if we have the masks, we have only limited fighting experience! Stupid Turaga! Why did they have to rush us into this so much?" he thought. "These masks aren't enough…or maybe we just don't have what it takes…" Suddenly a memory of something Vakama had told him rushed into his mind.

"**Remember Tahu, even though the masks will give you enhanced abilities, there are much greater powers that lie within all of you. Those powers are your very own elemental abilities. Your elemental powers are what make you who you are. You must trust in them. Don't ever forget that…"**

Vakama's words encouraged Tahu once more. "He's right. He was always right. They didn't rush us into this. We can defeat him! Because we are the legendary Toa, and we will fulfill our destiny! And I think I know exactly what we should do…" Tahu thought to himself smiling.

They all slowly started to get back up. Even Kopaka was getting up, whose arms had healed. "This guy's tougher than I thought." Pohatu said. "This doesn't look good." Onua added. They were all badly burned from the blasts. Makuta was tauntingly laughing at them. "Did you really think you had any hope of defeating me?" He said continuing to laugh. "Everybody activate your shielding powers now!" Tahu ordered. They did so. "What are you up to? Hiding behind your shields like cowards will get you nowhere!" Makuta yelled. He then tried to strike at Tahu. The shield ruptured a little bit but it held. "Now form a ball of elemental energy and we'll all fire at the same time!" Tahu told them.

With their barriers protecting them they each formed a very powerful ball of pure elemental energy. "Now fire!" Tahu commanded. They each shot the ball of energy at Makuta. His flesh started to deteriorate and fade away as he was overwhelmed with the power of their elements. Before completely fading away he shouted, "You cannot destroy me, for I am destruction itself!" Slowly the shadow miasma started to lift.

The Toa emerged from Mangaia very battered and very weakened from their battles. The pleasant light of the afternoon sun was a delight to their eyes, which had been in the dark for so long. As they exited the entrance slowly started to close.

"We did it. WE ACTUALLY DID IT!" Lewa said with great joy. In his excitement Lewa hugged Kopaka and wouldn't let go continuing to chant "We did it! We did it!" "Please let me go." Kopaka said about to snap. The others started laughing. Kopaka pushed Lewa off. "Don't ever do that again." Kopaka said, very annoyed. "Sorry, I was just caught up in the moment, that's all." Lewa said smiling.

Onua suddenly noticed something. "Something's wrong." He said. "What do you mean?" Gali asked concerned. But as she looked up at the sky her question was answered. Off in the distance the sky was black with smoke. "What the hell is that?" Pohatu said. Suddenly coming out of the trees appeared Kongu, one of the Le-Matoran. "Help! Le-Koro is under attack!" Kongu yelled with great urgency. "Under attack from what?" Tahu asked, now very serious.

To be continued…

Well that's the end of Chapter 3. Please Review, I appreciate your comments.

What could be attacking Le-Koro? Find out next chapter!

Some of you may have an idea…

Notes: think of the bulla berry as the sensu bean in Dragon Ball Z, except its healing abilities are a bit slower acting than the sensu bean.

Info: just in case anyone was wondering, the person that I played the game with is Shadow Nuju, and sometimes he will write select chapters. I will mention when he has written a chapter. If it doesn't say at the beginning of a chapter that he wrote it, then I did. Also, the first review he put, if anyone saw, was a joke he played on me because he likes to piss me off sometimes. For images of Xaldin visit my page on brickshelf. A link to my page is provided in my profile.


	4. Chapter 4: Beware the Bohrok

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 4: Beware the Bohrok

Kongu stood before the Toa breathing heavily. He was very tired from running so far to get to them. Kongu was holding a machete which he had used it to cut through the thick forest that is Le-Wahi. "Under attack from what?" Tahu asked again, this time getting impatient and anxious. Onua was thinking to himself. "I don't understand. We just destroyed Makuta, and nearly died doing it. Maybe…" "Bohrok!" Kongu suddenly yelled, making the Toa all jump.

"What the hell is a Bohrok?" Pohatu asked. "There's no time to explain right now! We need to get back to Le-Koro before they kill everyone!" Kongu yelled, now very urgent. "Hop on to my back and hold on tight." Lewa instructed him. Using their masks they shot off into the sky towards Le-Koro. "They?" Gali suddenly thought to herself.

After a while they could see the village clearly. There was fire in multiple places and motionless bodies scattered in different areas. The Toa landed on the wooden paneling that made of the streets of the village. Large sections had broken off in areas and were lying on the forest floor. "My god…" Onua said in a low voice. Some of the huts had fallen with the sections of flooring as well. Some bodies could be seen among one of the wreckages below.

"Turaga Matau? Arkam?" Kongu called out grabbing onto a tree and sliding down towards the wreckage. No one responded. It was quiet here. The noises that were usually abundant in the region of Le-Wahi had ceased. All that could be heard was the slowly blowing wind. "Search for survivors." Tahu told everyone. Gali was already dousing fires with water. Kongu observed the bodies on the ground. He knew those Matoran. They were hunters who often gathered food for village feasts. Now they were dead. He looked away closing his eyes in sorrow, and then started to dig through the wreckage.

Lewa observed his village. He could see Matoran brutally slaughtered. His heart started to race as his anger slowly intensified. He started to tense his fist in anger. Suddenly he started to calm down. Gali had placed a comforting claw on his shoulder. "It's ok." She said to him. "I'm sure they'll be some survivors." Lewa sighed and lowered his head. It did not look good to him. Gali then left his side to continue her search. "They couldn't all be dead…could they?" Lewa thought to himself.

"Uhhhhh……" a low grunting was heard from under a wrecked hut. It immediately caught Lewa's attention. He quickly started digging through the smashed wood and leaves. After digging for a while he found who had made the noise. It was a Matoran wearing a light-green Huna, mask of invisibility. His skin looked burned in some places, but not by that of fire. It was something else… "I found someone!" Lewa shouted.

Kongu immediately turned his head towards the sound of Lewa shouting. "Could it be?" He said to himself, quickly climbing back up the tree. He ran over to where Lewa was crouching. Kongu took a look at the Matoran. "Arkam!" he shouted helping him up. "Are you ok?" Kongu asked him. "I was worried they had killed you. Did some of the Matoran escape to the hiding place?" Kongu asked, bombarding him with questions. "There's a hiding place?" Lewa thought to himself. "Thank the spirit." "Kongu…do you mind not asking me a million questions right now? I need some time to collect myself here." Arkam said.

Arkam sat down on some leaves. "Where's Matau?" Lewa asked. "I…don't know." Arkam said. "He was fighting I know that, but I was smashed into the hut before he went down. Assuming that he did that is." Arkam explained.

"I'm fine." A voice suddenly said. They all turned their heads. Turaga Matau was standing before them. "Matau!" Kongu shouted, jumping on him and hugging him. "Please get off of me." Matau told him. Kongu stopped hugging him. Matau was holding his buzz saw staff. The saw part had blood stains on it. Matau's mask was nowhere to be seen, and he looked very battered and cut. Lewa smiled though. He was just happy to see that he was still alive. But he still had great concern in his eyes for the others, and Matau could see that.

"Don't worry Lewa. A lot of the Matoran escaped. The ones dead before you are those who chose to stay and fight." Matau told him. Lewa let out a sigh of relief. "Now I have something to show you. All of you" Matau said, gesturing to the other Toa. Lewa called over the others. After a brief reunion, they followed Matau to the other side of the village.

"Observe. This is what attacked our village. This is a Bohrok." Matau said gesturing to a strange insect-like creature lying dead on the wooden floorboards. "What in the…" Pohatu said. The Bohrok was green and had a round body. Its hands were pincer like and it had red eyes and two tusks, there was also a strange red thing that looked like a mask behind a layer of transparent shell on its face. "What the hell is this?" Tahu asked. "It is a Lehvak. A Bohrok of swamp. A swarm of these attacked the village. We managed to kill some." Matau said.

"Bohrok are creatures that we thought were only legend. They are insect-like creatures that have an unusually high level intelligence. Though the average Bohrok is relatively stupid, they are _capable_ of communicating intellectually and in our language. They use things similar to your kanohi, called krana." He pointed at the strange mask. "Their krana grant them different powers and abilities and just like the kanohi do for you. They are also, just like the kanohi, living things themselves. There are six different types of Bohrok. The earth; Nuhvok, swamp; Lehvak, water; Gahlok, ice; Kohrak, fire; Tahnok, and stone; Pahrak." Matau explained.

"Where did they come from?" Kopaka asked. "It is not certain where they came from. You have to understand, we weren't even sure if they existed or not. The only explanation I can think of is that Makuta is still alive, and he has somehow gained control over the swarm and unleashed them upon us." Matau said. "That's impossible!" Tahu yelled. "We saw him die!" He had been destroyed right in front of them. Tahu was sure of it! "Apparently not." Matau said, starting to scratch his head. He suddenly put his hand out and his mask rose out of some rubble. It floated towards his hand. He then grabbed it and put it back on. "Only Makuta would be able to control the Bohrok." Matau said crossing his arms.

"How is he alive?" Pohatu asked, getting impatient. Suddenly it hit Onua like an avalanche. "What if it was all a trick? What if he lured all of us into Mangaia, so he could attack each village while they were defenseless!" This struck a cord in each of the Toa. He was right! What if it was all a trap! What if write now each village was suffering the same fate Le-Koro had, or worse…

"We have to get back to our villages!" Pohatu said urgently. "Matau, what chance do we have against a swarm on our own?" Gali asked. Matau looked into her eyes, and didn't say anything. She understood what he meant though. "I see. Well we can't all be in six places at once, so we have no choice but to split up." she said. "Until we meet again then." Onua said. "Good luck to all of you." He continued before taking off into the air. The others left as well except for Lewa and Gali.

"Gali, what do I do?" Lewa asked. "Stay here in Le-Koro. Gather up the Le-Matoran from the "hiding place" and prepare them for another attack." Gali told him. She then ran off towards the waterfall canyon that was near to Le-Koro. "Ok, where are the others?" Lewa asked. "Follow us." Arkam said. "Yeah, we'll lead the way." Kongu added contently. "What about you Matau? Are you coming?" Lewa asked. "No. I will stay here and rest. Just get back soon." Matau responded. Lewa gave him a thumbs-up, before fallowing Kongu and Arkam.

"I wonder how Makuta could have possibly survived" Gali thought to herself as she ran through the forest. She then reached the edge of the canyon and dove off. "I just don't understand it…" She then plunged into the water. Using an underwater tunnel, she started to swim to Naho Bay in order to get to Ga-Koro as quickly as possible.

Jala, a Ta-Matoran with a yellow mask of shielding, stood on the top of the eastern wall of Ta-Koro. He was looking out at the burnt forest that made up the relatively small region of Ta-Wahi. He wasn't staring at anything in-particular, he just enjoyed the view. Surrounding the wall was a mote of lava, making it a much protected village. The only way in or out was either the main gate or the vast tunnel that eventually connects to Onu-Koro.

Jala being the captain of the guard in Ta-Koro felt it was his sworn duty to protect his village and had much confidence in their natural defenses. "Jala! Jala!" a voice suddenly shouted out to him. "Hmm?" he said turning around. Standing before him was Vulca, one of the guards around the wall. Vulca wore an orange mask of illusion. He looked very tired, like he had run around the whole wall just to get to Jala. "What is it Vulca?" Jala asked him.

"Tahu is back from Mangaia! He wishes to speak with you!" Vulca explained urgently. "Lead the way." Jala said. "Wow, I can't believe the great Toa Tahu has actually requested my presence!" he thought to himself excitedly. Jala followed Vulca to the front gate. Standing in front of it was Tahu himself. Turaga Vakama was there as well. Tahu had a very serious expression on his face.

Jala's excitement faded. Something didn't feel right. "You requested my presence Tahu?" Jala asked. "Yes I did." Tahu replied. Vulca went back to the eastern wall. "I need you and your men to set up defenses around the entire perimeter. Set up catapults, snipers, any type of projectile weapon we've got. And arm the warriors with combat weapons as well." He told him. "Why what's the matter?" Jala asked confused. "There is a strong possibility that Ta-Koro will be under attack." Tahu said. "From what?" Jala said now very concerned. There was suddenly a loud crashing noise coming from the eastern wall.

Distant screaming could be heard. "Bohrok! They're inside Ta-Koro. They're climbing out of the lava mote!" Vulca screamed to them. "Damn it, they've already broken through!" Tahu said starting to sprint towards the smashed wall. "Jala quickly! Get to the armory and arm as many Matoran as possible!" Vakama instructed him. "Yes sir!" Jala responded running off.

Tahu could see all the Bohrok. They were a swarm of Tahnok. They were destroying everything and everyone in their way. "No!" Tahu shouted running towards a Tahnok that was about to kill a Matoran. He swung his sword and hit it in the neck, decapitating it. "Arm yourself or hide now!" Tahu told the Matoran, continuing to hold of the Tahnok.

Tahu was fighting them all, on his own. There were what seemed to be an endless amount of them. Every time he killed one, it seemed like five more would emerge from the opening in the wall. Tahu did a sideways roll and slashed off the legs off of one of them, then got to his feet and stabbed its torso. Suddenly four of them jumped and latched onto his back. Their fire claws dug into his shoulders and back as they drove him into the ground. Tahu struggled on the ground as they clawed and tore at his flesh. "Grrrrrrr! Goddamn it!" Tahu yelled out in pain.

Suddenly the four Tahnoks were knocked flying off of his back by a boulder. Tahu got up to see Jala along with Vakama, Vulca and about sixty other Ta-Matoran, and they were all armed and ready to fight. Tahu smiled, they then all charged at the swarm. Tahu grabbed a Tahnok and lifted it above his head and slashed it in half. Grabbing another one that jumped at him by the leg, he threw it into a crowd of others. After a while Jala yelled to him, "We're losing men fast! We can't hold them forever!"

He was right. They wouldn't last long at all. "Have to think of something." Tahu thought as he slashed one in the face. "Use battering rams to drive the mass of them back through the hole in the wall! Try to force them back to the lava!" Tahu commanded. The Matoran grabbed some rams and started to smash it into them. Tahu was pushing them back with blasts of fire. The swarms of Tahnoks were slowly being pushed back into the opening. "What do we do once we've forced them through?" Jala asked while helping push one of the battering rams. Tahu thought for a second. "We'll blast the wall and see if that holds them off!" "Roger that." Jala said smiling.

The Tahnoks suddenly started to push with great force. The Matoran and Tahu were starting to lose their hold on them. "Oh…shit this is…not…good!" Tahu yelled greatly struggling to stay in place. "Need a hand?" a voice suddenly said. Tahu looked up into the sky. It was Gali! She must have seen the smoke and fire! She floated above the mass of Matoran. She then shot gallons of water out of her claws at the swarm. The water washed them through the hole, making them fall into the lava below. "That's not enough! They can survive the lava!" Vulca yelled to her. "No problem." Gali said. She then summoned a monsoon overtop the lava and, using water from her hands, she managed to harden the lava to rock.

She then landed among the exhausted Ta-Matoran. "The hardening process no doubt crushed all of them, and don't worry, it should melt again shortly." She said to Tahu. "Thank you Gali. If it were not for you I'm not sure if we would have succeeded." Tahu said great fully. "No problem at all." She replied, smiling contently.

Vakama looked around at the masses of injured and dead Matoran. His heart ached and the site of it. Vulca placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Turaga Vakama, many got away from the area." "I know Vulca, but I'd rather have none of my people die." Vakama said walking away.

"Tahu! Tahu!" Jala said excitedly, running towards him. He wanted to thank Tahu for all the help since they would have failed if it had not been for him. Tahu appeared not to have heard him yet though. Suddenly Jala stopped running and stared. "Wow." He said lowly. His eyes had wandered to Gali. "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on…" "What did you want Jala?" Tahu asked. "Huh? What?" Jala said snapping out of his daze. "What did you want?" Tahu asked again. "Uhhhhh…" Jala said slightly blushing. "Uh, n-never mind I can see that you're busy." He said quickly. "But…" Tahu said, but Jala was already gone. Gali and Tahu both looked at each other with confused expressions. "That was weird." Gali said. "Yes he is a rather odd one." Tahu added.

That's the end of Chapter #4. I hope u enjoyed it. Please review, I'd like to know what you think.

Note: At the part where Matau made his mask come to him I will explain. In this story, the owner of a mask has a spiritual bond with their mask. Therefore they can summon it to them when it is not with them. Also, they do not need the masks to live; it is more of a customary thing, as well as being a source of power and ability.


	5. Chapter 5: An Unlikely Ally

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 5: An Unlikely Ally

The brisk air slowly blew against Kopaka's face as he stood panting on the icy cliffs of Mount Ihu with about fifteen Ko-Matoran. There were splashes of blood across his mask and his sword was drenched in blood as well. There were hundreds of dead Kohraks throughout the icy battleground. There was originally about forty Matoran when they started. If it had not been for the avalanche Kopaka had made, they would not have survived. "Will there be anymore attacks?" Kopice asked. Kopice wore a silver mask of x-ray vision and was holding an ice sword. He stood next to Kopaka, looking up at him.

Kopaka looked down at Kopice and gave him a faint smile. He had been impressed with Kopice's bravery and fighting ability. "No. I think we can go back for now." Kopaka said. He was exhausted. He wouldn't have been able to fight anyways. Matoro had been fighting as well, and he traveled back to Ko-Koro alongside Kopaka and Kopice.

A question had been buzzing through Kopaka's head for a while now, that they might be able to answer. It had been bothering him ever since he left Mangaia. He might as well ask, he thought to himself. "Kopice, Matoro." He said breaking the silence. They both looked at him in response, too tired to be bothered to say anything. "Did you ever know of a Matoran named Xaldin?" Kopaka asked. Matoro and Kopice both looked at each other and shrugged. "We have no idea, sorry." Matoro said. "Perhaps this is a question that you should ask Turaga Nuju." Kopice added. They continued to head towards Ko-Koro, along with the twelve other Ko-Matoran. "Maybe I will." Kopaka said.

"Get another support pillar or the ceiling might continue to cave!" Onua ordered some Onu-Matoran. There was just an attack on Onu-Koro. They had succeeded in stopping the swarm without any casualties. The Nuhvoks were not all too smart. The whole mass of the swarm got crushed by a cave-in. "Onua! I have finally finished!" Nuparu shouted running towards him. Nuparu wore an orange Pakari. "I've finally completed my Boxer-vehicle!" Nuparu continued with great enthusiasm. "If we can produce one for each Matoran we will be unstoppable!" "Hmm. I'll trust you on this Nuparu since you've proven trustworthy in the past, but make sure they work properly because I want there to be no faults or problems or glitches or whatever might go wrong with them because I don't want a Matoran life to be lost because of the faults of a machine!" Onua said sternly. Nuparu bowed his head. "Understood sir." He then headed back to his workshop.

"Onua! You've got to come see this!" Onepu said running up to him. "What now?" Onua said lowly. "We've captured a live Nuhvok!" Onepu said. "So? Kill the damn thing!" Onua said. Feeling his time slowly being wasted, Onua started to walk away. "But Onua, it's talking!" Onepu yelled. Onua stopped and slowly turned around. "You're serious?" Onua questioned with doubt. "Yes! Come and see for yourself!" Onepu told him starting to show him the way.

As they made their way closer the containment they could hear loud shouting. "Release me from these chains NOW or I'll slaughter each one of you!" The voice yelled. "Wow, you weren't kidding huh?" Onua said. "Yeah…" Onepu said, starting to feel scared. They could see the containment now. The outside of it was made of solid stone, with no way to look in. All there was was a doorway. Two guards stood outside the door, their spears crossed across the entrance. They saw that it was Onua and moved their spears out of the way for him, but Onepu was not allowed in.

The inside was dimly lit with torches. Behind bars was a Nuhvok chained in several places to the walls and floor. It never once took its eyes off of Onua since he had entered the room. Onua stared right back. Neither of them feared the other. "So I suppose you're here to kill me? Are you not?" The Nuhvok said, its light green eyes starting to glow. "No I will not kill you. Not yet anyways." Onua said. "You Bohrok are very fascinating creatures." Onua started. "You all appear to be no stronger than a Nui-Rama, and yet a swarm of your kind can cause ten times the destruction a swarm of those flying pests could." "What's your point?" the Nuhvok said. "Shut up I'm not finished." Onua told him. "Your kind also appears to have no more intelligence then that of a nest of Nui-Jaga. And yet here I am talking to one, and he is answering me back." Onua finished.

"Then there is more to us than meets the eye, isn't there?" The Nuhvok said laughing faintly. "Though we appear, and most of us are, relatively stupid, we do have our own…individuality. Some Bohrok I know would tremble at the site of you, and pathetically beg for mercy in fear of inevitable death. While I stand and face you despite that fact." The Nuhvok explained.

"Interesting, Bohrok. Very interesting." Onua said sarcastically, pacing in front of his cell. "Please…call me Nuhvok." He said grinning. "Very well. Not that it would matter soon anyways." Onua said. "I want to ask you some questions about your swarms." Onua said, no longer pacing. "Very well then. Ask me anything." Nuhvok said simply. "Hmm? Am I gonna get my answers that easily?" Onua questioned. "I do not care for Makuta's goals. It does not matter to me at all." Nuhvok said simply. He had still never taken his eyes off of Onua

"So Makuta is alive?" Onua's interest suddenly sparked. "Obviously, but you had already figured it out anyway, hadn't you?" Nuhvok said. "You are a smart one aren't you?" Onua said grinning. "Where is the hive of your swarms?" "That I will not tell you." Nuhvok said. "Oh yeah? Why not?" Onua asked getting annoyed. "That endangers my race, which I do care about. Therefore I will not tell." "For a Bohrok, you have some qualities I could like Nuhvok. What will you tell me then?" Onua asked.

"Anything you want to know about Makuta's plans that I know of. But really think about it. What would I know? After all, I am just a grunt." he told Onua. "Fine. When will the next attacks be and where will they take place?" Onua asked. "Release one of my arms and I will show you." Nuhvok said grinning. "How stupid do you think I am?" Onua protested. "I am not a fool Onua. Even if I managed to break free, I would be killed rather quickly." "Fine." Onua said, entering the cell and unchaining one of his arms. Nuhvok then preceded draw in the dirt and show Onua where each attack would be initiated from.

"When will they happen?" Onua asked. "In about a week's time, on each village, all at once." Nuhvok said. "Crap…" Onua said, starting to worry. "How many Bohrok?" "Far more than all the swarms that have attacked so far. Those were all just tests." Nuhvok told him in a surprisingly serious tone. "Not good, not good." Onua said quickly pacing again. "Well at least we have time to plan." He continued.

"Kill me now." He said suddenly. "If I go back, Makuta will have my head, for treachery. Besides, you were planning to anyways, were you not?" Nuhvok continued, starting to lower his head. Onua readied his fist, to smash into the transparent shell on his face. But, surprisingly to himself, he was feeling great hesitation. "Is this right?" He thought to himself. Onua slammed his fist downward. A loud crunching noise could be heard from outside.

Nuhvok opened his eyes. Onua's fist was smashed into the floor before him. "I don't understand." Nuhvok said with great confusion. Onua then broke all the other chains. "If you were to be killed by Makuta anyways, then I see no sense in killing you. Instead I will grant you your life. In exchange I expect your full trust and assistance in defeating the Bohrok swarms. Also you are never to leave my site! You have no other business than helping us, so you have no reason to leave my side anyways." Onua explained, crossing his arms. "I pledge my life, from this moment on, only to serve the Toa." Nuhvok said bowing. "Thank you." he continued.

"Whatever. Now lets meet with the other Toa, because you're gonna tell them everything you told me, and you're gonna help us plan against them." He told Nuhvok. "Understood." Nuhvok replied. They then left the containment area.

Kopaka could start to see parts of Ko-Koro at the top of the slope. "Thank the spirit…finally." He said with relief. He could see Nuju standing there waving to them. "Where is everyone else?" Nuju asked them when they reached him. "They're dead." Kopaka said. Nuju lowered his head, closing his eyes. "They were good warriors Nuju." Kopaka said. "They died for what they believe in."

"Nuju I need to ask you something." He requested. "What is it?" he asked Kopaka, looking back up. "Did you ever know a Matoran named Xaldin?" Kopaka suddenly saw Nuju's eyes widen. The sound of the name had an effect on him. "About…fifteen years ago there was a Matoran named Xaldin. His father was a Ko-Matoran and his mother was a Le-Matoran. He wore a green Hau." Nuju had a hint of sorrow in his voice. "His mix of elements made him a hybrid, making him very strong for a Matoran. He even once killed a mid-sized Muaka. Sadly, one day on a trip up the mountain he fell to his death. His body was never recovered." A tear rolled out of Nuju's eye as he said this. "But Kopaka how do you know of him if it was so long ago that this occured? Most of the villagers don't even know of him." Nuju suddenly asked. "Never mind, it was just a name I heard." Kopaka didn't have the heart to tell Nuju what Xaldin had become.

"Oh I almost forgot! You have received a message from Onua." Nuju told him. "Really? Why?" Kopaka asked. "I don't know. All he said was to meet up in the Turaga meeting place. It also said that the other Toa would be there as well." Nuju continued. "But what about the village? Doesn't it need protection?" Kopaka protested. "He also said that you shouldn't worry about that, and that he would explain why when you all get there." Nuju explained.

"Then I guess I have no choice. Kopice! Come with me we're going somewhere!" Kopaka ordered. As they started to head down the mountain Kopice asked, "Where are we going?" "To meet up with the other Toa. You're going to help us." Kopaka said giving him a smile.

Onua stood alone on the stairs of the temple where they would all meet. Nuhvok was inside, which was surprising because that meant that Onua actually trusted him enough to stay inside without escaping through one of the windows.

One after another all the other Toa slowly started to show up. Pohatu, Tahu and Gali came alone, but Lewa was accompanied by Arkam and Kopice was with Kopaka. "I'm glad that you've all finally made it." Onua said. "Please follow me."

They all entered the temple. Tahu was the first to notice Nuhvok sitting on one of the Turagas chairs, with his feet up on the table. Thinking it was an enemy, he immediately reacted firing a blast of fire towards him. "No wait!" Onua yelled. "Wha? Oh god!" Nuhvok yelled in panic, rolling out of the way. Onua grabbed Tahu by the arm. "What!" Tahu protested. "Calm the hell down! He's the reason you're all here!" Onua told them. "What do you mean Onua?" Gali asked. "Yeah, what the hell do you mean? He's a freaking Bohrok!" Pohatu added.

"His name is Nuhvok. He's our new 'friend' from now on, and he's going to help us." Onua explained. "Okay and how's he going to do that?" Kopaka asked with a smug tone. "I'm going to help you by telling you all information on the next attacks. Unless of coarse you don't wanna know, then by all means leave." Nuhvok said to Kopaka. "You've got guts for someone in your position." Kopaka scoffed.

"Stop arguing and listen to what he has to say! Nuhvok, when are the swarms going to strike?" Gali asked politely. "Like I told Onua they will occur in about a week, and each attack will be launched at the same time. Each swarm will contain around a thousand Bohrok each." "You can't be serious." Tahu said.

"For Onu-Koro, they will strike from tunnels they have dug themselves. The openings will appear in various parts throughout the village. They would be able to attack from right under your feet. Luckily I know where the entry points are.

On Po-Koro they will surround the entire perimeter, and literally swarm the whole village.

Against Ga-Koro they will be coming up under your village with an underground/underwater trench. Using compressed air pockets they plan to fire themselves up and at the village, completely taking it by surprise.

Ta-Koro was going to have Tahnok launched at it from catapults, having them hit your village like balls of fire, and while they kept you busy, a troop of them would be sinking your village into the very mote of lava that keeps you safe from harm.

On Ko-Koro they plan to distract you while an avalanche of seismic proportions crushes everything and everyone from top to bottom on that side of the mountain.

Now Le-Koro is the tricky one. They technically don't have a full frontal assault planned. Your village has six supporting trees that hold it up fully. They plan use six and only six Lehvak to burn the trees down with their acidic claws. Thus Lewa, your entire village would crumble before anyone knew something was even remotely wrong."

"How do you know all this?" Tahu suspiciously asked. "Though I am officially the level of a mere grunt, I almost got promoted to Kal. That is, before these events transpired I was." "And what are we supposed to do against such coordinated attacks?" Pohatu asked. "That is where I come in." Nuhvok said with a gleam in his eyes. "If you follow my instructions carefully, you will surly succeed."

Please Review. Your comments help. Next chapter should be coming in soon.


	6. Chapter 6: Unleashed

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 6: Unleashed

Kopaka stood on a pile of boulders with Gali and Kopice sitting next to him, observing the work that Nuhvok, Onua, Lewa, Arkam and Pohatu were in the middle of. Kopice was taking a nap. The five that Kopaka was watching were digging a vast trench on the outskirts of Po-Koro to trap the swarm of Pahraks that were going to attack. Kopaka was looking at Nuhvok with disgust.

Kopaka usually trusted Onua's judgment, until now that is. "I can't believe Onua actually trusts that thing. If I had my way it would have been dead a while ago. Why keep it alive? It'll just betray us anyways." He said in an irritated manner.

"Why can't you just accept the fact that Nuhvok is on our side now?" Gali asked. "Because it's obviously tricking us! How can you not see that?" Kopaka argued. "You're very stubborn you know that?" said Gali, getting annoyed.

She looked down at them. Nuhvok had just buried Onua in some dirt, which made Lewa hysterical. She could see Onua's head rise out of the dirt looking very pissed off. He started to shout something, though she was too far away to hear it clearly. Onua then started chasing Nuhvok around the dig site. Lewa was now rolling on the ground with laughter. She let out a small laugh. "Does that look evil to you?" Kopaka didn't respond. She then jumped off of the pile of rocks. "Well I'm going to join them so you have fun up there on your little rock." "Whatever." Kopaka replied dismissively.

She made her way to the dig site. Onua now had Nuhvok in a head lock, and was giving him a rather hard noogy. "Ok cut it out." Gali said smiling. Onua grinned then released Nuhvok and jumped back in the hole and continued digging. "You almost killed my krana! Don't do that!" Nuhvok said jokingly.

"So, uh, what's the plan here Nuhvok, I never really got told the gist of it." Gali asked, inquisitively. "Well, what we are planning to do is dig a full circle trench around the outskirts of Po-Koro. It will be about 20 meters deep, though rite now we are just making the outline. Then we will design a camouflage over the opening so that the Pahraks will fall in without even seeing it." Nuhvok explained.

"Wow sounds like you really know what you're doing, but where did you learn it?" Asked Gali. "I have my ways." He replied, obviously not wanting to say more. "Ok…" She said finding his response rather suspicious, but she dismissed is as just something personal. "Kopaka doesn't trust you, you know." Gali mentioned, breaking the ice. "I'm fully aware Gali. Tahu doesn't either." Nuhvok was staring out at the desert plain.

"Doesn't that bother you?" She asked. "Not really. I'll just have to prove to them otherwise." He said turning his head and smiling at her. Gali smiled back. "How about less talking and more digging!" Tahu suddenly yelled from behind them. "Well looks like the funs over now. Tahu's here." Lewa said jumping back in the trench. "Where have you been?" Pohatu shouted back to him. "I had some business to attend to." He replied.

"What kind of business?" Nuhvok asked curiously. "No concern of yours." Tahu replied, glaring at him. Nuhvok rolled his eyes and turned around and went back into the trench. "Come on, we've only got about four days left and we've only secured two villages so far." Tahu urged them. "What about Kopaka? He's been up on that rock all day just staring out at the desert." Pohatu questioned. "I talked to him before I came over here. Let's just say not even a hurricane could get him down here."

A huge grin suddenly appeared on Lewa's face. "I'll be right back." Lewa told everyone. "Where does he think he's going?" Tahu asked. "I think I have an idea…" Gali said, feeling a mixture of frustration and contentment.

Nuhvok and Onua were both in the hole. "Why does Kopaka always do that?" Nuhvok asked. "Do what?" "You know, stand up in high places and 'stare off into space'." Nuhvok continued. "He just likes to be alone most of the time." "Then why is the Ko-Matoran there?" asked Nuhvok. "Now that, I can't explain. I was under the impression that he hated having company. He isn't very trusting to most people, though he does trust me and the other Toa." Onua responded, slightly puzzled. "Maybe he's finally made a friend of some kind…"

"GODDAMNIT LEWA!" Kopaka yelled at the top of his lungs as he was thrust into the air by a cyclone. They could hear Lewa laughing. "Well, he trusts most of us anyways." Onua sighed.

They all worked throughout the day until they were finally finished the trap. It was set and ready for action. The Toa and others camped out near the dig site.

Tahu woke up to the sound of talking. One of the voices was Nuhvok and another he was unsure of. Tahu got up slowly, making sure not to make too much noise. It was dark out except for the fire he had lit earlier in the evening. He didn't want to use his sword in case he would be discovered.

Tahu made his way towards the voices. "They know what you've done Nuhvok. They will send others after you. Remember the Bahrag know exactly where you are thanks to your krana. Tell me your plans now and you will be spared." A voice said. Tahu was now crouching behind a rock, watching the whole thing. He could see that Nuhvok was talking to another Bohrok but he was unsure of what type it was.

"I knew he was treacherous!" Tahu thought to himself angrily. "I will never tell." Nuhvok replied to the Bohrok. This surprised Tahu. "Don't be a fool Nuhvok! You think they've accepted you now? Pfff, they'll kill you as soon as they're done with you. They're just using you! Are you so blind you can't see that?" "I will **not** tell!" Nuhvok replied. "You fool!" The Bohrok yelled as it stretched out one of its arms and shot electricity at Nuhvok.

Nuhvok lay on the ground writhing in pain. It suddenly stopped. "This is your last Nuhvok. Betray the Toa and I will spare you this pain." "Never!" Nuhvok screamed. "Then you die!" The Bohrok yelled, firing more electricity.

Tahu emerged from the shadows behind the Bohrok and swung his sword at it, slicing its head off. Nuhvok lay fried on the ground. Tahu crouched down before him. "Nuhvok, are you ok?" he said, gently shaking him. Nuhvok looked up at Tahu. "I…think…I'll be…fine." He said in a raspy voice. "What was that thing?" Tahu asked. "Please…bring me back to the campsite. I will explain in the morning." Nuhvok told him. Tahu picked Nuhvok up and started to carry him back.

Tahu had found new respect for Nuhvok. He was suffering from great pain and still didn't give in to its demands. "I guess he is trustworthy after all." Tahu thought to himself, smiling. He lay Nuhvok down at the site and sat by him for the rest the night to make sure he was ok.

The next morning Gali awoke to see Tahu sitting over a charred, but living Nuhvok. "What the hell did you do!" Gali yelled. Her shout woke up the other Toa and the two Matoran. "What's with all the ruckus?" Onua asked tiredly.

"What the hell!" Onua yelled. "I can explain!" Tahu said defensively. "You better have a damn good explanation!" "Everyone calm down!" Nuhvok yelled. Everyone went silent. "Last night I was offered not to be killed for my treachery by a Tahnok-Kal. He said if I joined them again and told them the plans I would not be killed. I refused to tell him. He proceeded to try and end my life right there. He almost succeeded until Tahu stepped in. I owe him my life." Nuhvok explained.

"Hmm." Kopaka said dismissively, starting to leave the area. Kopice followed him. "Sorry about the outrage, Tahu." Onua apologized. "No problem. But what I would like to know is how did that Bohrok get past the trench?" Tahu said, turning his head towards Nuhvok. "Stop acting so suspicious Tahu! It doesn't matter anymore, its dead anyways." Gali told him. She then crouched in front of Nuhvok to tend to his injuries.

"Kopaka wait up!" Kopice yelled. "What it is?" he replied. "Why are you leaving?" Kopaka stood there staring again. "You're a good friend Kopice. I'd just like to tell you how much I've appreciated your help. You're not annoying like other Matoran." "Uh, thank you Kopaka." He replied confused at why he was being so nice to him.

Over the next few days the Toa and others worked tirelessly to prepare for the Bohrok swarms. After much hard labor the day finally came. The day Nuhvok had told them about.

Kopaka stood waiting on the slopes of Mount Ihu. He was with Kopice and about forty other Ko-Matoran. Ten of the Ko-Matoran had Boxer vehicles that Nuparu had designed. They were still going to be greatly outnumbered, but Nuhvok insisted that the plan would work. Kopaka stared up the mountain to the point where the Kohraks were said to be causing the avalanche. Nuhvok was up there along with a smaller group of Matoran. They were supposed to stop the avalanche from occurring. They had evacuated the village just to be safe.

A faint rumbling could be heard, it sounded like rolling thunder. In truth in was the Kohraks making their way up the slope towards them. "Boxers move in front!" Kopaka ordered. They complied.

"Remember to wait for the signal then I will guide you further! If the signal is not heard within twenty minutes make sure to follow me! We will only assume that they failed!" Kopaka informed them. "Are you ready Kopice?" he asked, looking down at him. "Yes sir." He replied, nervously swaying his sword. "Don't worry Kopice, you'll be fine." Kopaka said giving a reassuring smile, which is something he doesn't normally do. Smile that is.

Kopaka walked to the front and joined the Boxers. Without warning the Kohraks rushed over the horizon. They immediately engaged Kopaka and the Boxers. The Matoran now rushed behind them ready to fight any Kohrak that would breach the line. "Boxer 7 is down!" Someone yelled. Kopaka continued to fight back at the Kohraks.

He stabbed one in the face, and then kicked it into a group of others. A bunch started to dog-pile on top of him. He swiped his sword out and knocked them all off. "Boxers 2 and 9 are down!"

Kopaka could see Kopice fighting. One had jumped at him, but he impaled it with his sword. He got up and continued slashing at them.

Kopaka jumped up and thrust his sword behind his head then sent it crashing down on the head of a Kohrak that was about to get Kopice from behind. Its head split right down the middle. "Thanks." Kopice said. Kopaka then swung his sword back again and unintentionally stabbed it into the head of one behind him. He then swung it forward sending in crashing into others.

"Boxers 6, 4 and 10 are down!" "Shit!' Kopaka yelled. He kicked one in the face, making it fall to the ground and stabbed its torso. "Why hasn't the signal gone off yet!" he thought to himself anxiously. He swung his sword back and forth hitting two more of them. "We're losing people fast!"

A large blast was suddenly heard, turning Kopaka's attention to the sky. It was a Ta-Koro fire-work. "That's the signal!' Kopaka yelled. He then shot ice at the Kohraks, temporarily freezing them. "Follow me now! They'll burst out any second!" Kopaka ordered.

The Matoran started to follow him in an eastern direction. Using his mask of X-ray vision he could see the right path. The Bohrok were already catching up and taking down Matoran. Kopaka ran across the path. "Follow my footprints!" He walked back across in order to help them. He slashed away one of them that was about to split a Matoran in half. "Run now!" Kopaka ordered him.

Kopaka looked around. He could see no more Matoran so he started to run now. He ran across the path. As the Kohraks swarmed the area the path was in the ground broke and they all plummeted into the canyon. At the bottom were large spikes of ice that Kopaka had prepared, sealing their fate.

The remaining Matoran raised their fists let out a victory cheer. "We did it!" one of them yelled. Kopaka was smiling with relief looking around at all the triumphant Ko-Matoran. Suddenly it dawned on him like a stab to the gut, as his feeling of relief was replaced with panic. Where was Kopice? He ran up to Matoro who was cheering with some friends. "Matoro, where's Kopice?" Matoro's cheering stopped. He looked up at Kopaka. "I don't know." Matoro said getting concerned.

"Shit!" Kopaka yelled under is breath. He started to run and jumped over the canyon. He started to search among the dead Kohraks and Matoran. "Please don't be dead." He thought to himself. "Kopice!" he yelled out. There was no answer. "KOPICE!" his yelling getting more frantic

Everything was getting silent. The Ko-Matoran were now heading back to Ko-Koro. All that he could hear was the slowly blowing wind. He looked over in one direction and saw a silver Akaku sticking out of the snow. He ran over to it and picked it up. "Where are you…" he thought to himself. He looked around in the area. He suddenly noticed Kopice lying in the snow. Kopaka felt no hope though. He could see it from there. A Kohraks claw was lodged in Kopice's back and he was motionless.

Kopaka walked up and knelt in front of him. "Kopice…I'm sorry…" he said lowly. A single tear fell from Kopaka's eye. He then picked up the body and carried him back to Ko-Koro.

The Toa had succeeded in all of their battles against the Bohrok. Nuhvok's plans were successful and relative peace was to be expected for a little while. But deep in an underground lair a familiar enemy is rages over this defeat.

"You told me the Bohrok could take care of the Toa! How was I so foolish to trust in such lowly creatures as you two?" Makuta ranted at the twin dragons Cahdok and Gahdok. "There was an unexpected variable in the way." Cahdok explained. "Enough with these excuses! Your Bohrok have the power, but almost none of them have the brains. They will be useful in the future but I have my own plans at the moment." Makuta explained. "What do you mean?" Gahdok asked.

"I've been observing these Toa closely over the course of this 'war'. And I have come up with what I think will be a suitable solution. Come to me my sons! Reveal yourselves." Six figures holding staffs approached Makuta from the shadows.

"What are these?" Cahdok asked, in her hissing voice. "We are the ones who are going to put a stop to these Toa once and for all." The red one said grinning. "Go my sons! And leave none of them alive!"

Later that night, back on the surface a victory celebration is taking place underneath Le-Koro. The village above had since been fixed from the first attack. Matoran from all the different villages had gathered for the celebration. There was festive music, dance and lots of food and drink. There was a large fire in the centre that Arkam and many Matoran were dancing around. Lewa, Pohatu, and Gali were taking part as well. Onua was nearby with a drink, standing next to Nuhvok. Tahu was at the food. Kopaka was up in the trees, away from it all.

Pohatu stopped dancing and went over to Tahu. "Sure you've had enough to eat there Tahu?" he said laughing. "This stuff is great." Tahu said contently, his mouth full of food. "Where is Kopaka?" Pohatu asked. Tahu swallowed his food. "He's up there." He said pointing. "Have you noticed that he hasn't said a word since the battles ended?" Tahu added. "Well didn't you notice Kopice is nowhere to be seen?" Pohatu mentioned. "Oh, I see." Tahu realized with a sad expression.

Onua observed Lewa and Gali dancing. They were holding each others arms, spinning around and laughing. Onua chuckled. "I think they're having a little too much fun." He looked at Nuhvok who was now walking into the forest. "Where the hell's he going?" Onua wondered. He then started to follow.

After a while Nuhvok stopped and sat down on a log. "What's up?" Onua asked, surprising Nuhvok. Nuhvok did not look happy. "Why do you look so sad huh? It's a time for celebration!" Onua said, trying to cheer him up. "I'm happy we won but…" "But what?" Onua asked. "I feel like I've betrayed my kind. I helped in the killing of so many. I just didn't think it would guilt me so much." He said

"Hey, your one of us now. You're different from them, better than them. You can fight for a better cause. Though I suppose I can understand how you feel." Onua told him. "I suppose you're right and this feeling will go away. And I'd rather fight with you than for that scum Makuta." He said in anger. "Good. Now let's get back before Tahu and Pohatu eat all the food." Onua said.

They started to make their way back to the party area. Pair of glowing red eyes was watching them closely from the shadows of the trees. Without warning the figure jumped down from the trees and kicked Onua in the face, knocking him into a tree. Onua groaned then got to his feet. Before him stood a black reptilian creature with spikes on its back. It was wielding a staff with two clamps on each end that appeared to have spikes in them. "Nuhvok get help!" Onua yelled. Nuhvok ran to get the other Toa.

The creature ran at Onua and kicked him in the stomach. Onua bent forward, blood coming out of his mouth from the blow. It then smacked him in the face with one end of the staff knocking him up in the air. It jumped, spun around and kicked Onua in the stomach sending him flying once again. Onua crashed to the floor. It jumped and landed next to him, spun its staff around and stabbed it down into his gut. Onua felt the sharp 'teeth' of the staff bite down into his flesh. The creature lifted Onua with the staff and pinned him against a tree.

Onua looked into the eyes of the creature. He started to feel weak, like his energy was fading away. He looked down at the staff. He could see his energy channeling from his body into the staff. Onua looked back at the creature's face. "What the hell are you?" he asked weakly. "I am the one who is going to seal your fate here and now. I am Vorahk!" It said with an evil smile on his face. Onua looked down at the staff again. A ball of energy was starting to form at the tip.

"Now you're finished." Vorahk released the blast fromhis staff.

To be continued…

Note: I have noticed that I have not been getting many reviews. It is not getting me down though because I have a theory that though people may like the story, it's pretty much the same as the regular Bionicle storyline, therefore they feel no need to comment. If I am right about this I would just like to inform the reader that it will indeed change greatly from the actual storyline. Writing all this is just necessary for the story to be complete.


	7. Chapter 7: Disappearance

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 7: Disappearance

Gali grumbled as she awoke on the moist underbrush. She felt tired and very stiff. They must have been celebrating all night.

Gali slowly got to her feet. She put her arms behind her head and stretched tiredly. Everything was a mess. She chuckled, "Air types."

She looked around at everyone, when suddenly she noticed something. Onua and Nuhvok were gone. Though Gali wasn't all that worried at the time, she felt the need to make sure.

Gali approached Tahu who was sleeping on the ground. She then drenched his face with water. Tahu rose upwards in great surprise and shook his head back and forth. He then looked up at Gali, very irritated. "Don't do that!"

"Onua and Nuhvok aren't here." Gali told him, changing the subject. "Are you sure?" Tahu said, his voice becoming serious. "Everybody get up!" Tahu suddenly yelled making Gali jump.

"Holy crap where's the fire!" Lewa woke up flailing then rolled off of the table he was sleeping on. He then looked up at Tahu, "Oh, there it is."

Kopaka tiredly poked his head from the side of a platform in the canopy.

"What's with all the noise?" Pohatu complained, slowly getting up.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So you're telling me they're gone?" Lewa asked. "That's what he just said you dolt." Kopaka responded rottenly. "Shut up both of you!" Tahu yelled.

"When was the last time anyone saw them?" Gali asked them. "Well the last time I saw them Nuhvok had wandered into the forest and Onua followed shortly after." Pohatu stated.

Kopaka scoffed. "I knew that freak was treacherous!" "What are you talking about?" Gali said angrily. "That little bastard lured Onua into a trap! I knew it would come to this!" "Stop jumping to conclusions just because the situation favors your beliefs!" Gali yelled.

"ENOUGH!" Tahu screamed. The Toa fell silent. "What any of you think of this doesn't matter right now. What matters is finding them and making sure that they're okay, alright?" The Toa all nodded their heads. "Now let's split up and try to find them. We should search around the surrounding area and hopefully we'll find them." Tahu ordered.

Lewa started to head back to Le-Koro. "I'm bringing Arkam with me." Lewa had started to become really good friends with Arkam. They were very much alike.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Kopaka was now wandering Le-Wahi alone. It had been about half and hour since they started searching, and he was getting impatient. The whole time he had been ranting inside his mind about how stupid Onua was.

"It was all a show," he thought to himself, "The helping us, the false loyalty, it was all just an act in order to get close to us, and now he's got one of us. Stupid Onua. I never thought he would be so naïve. I'd expect that from Lewa, but not him. Just hope he's alright…"

Suddenly he heard a groan from within some bushes. Kopaka stopped and looked towards the noise. He spread open the bush and there lying within it was the badly beaten Nuhvok.

"Well, well, well. Look who had trouble with Onua. Guess your plan didn't work out so well after all did it?" Kopaka said mockingly. "W-what are you talking about?" Nuhvok said confused. Kopaka then kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"No fair! You're too fast for me!" Arkam yelled struggling to keep up, swinging on the vines. "Come on! You can do better than that!" Lewa yelled back at him laughing. Suddenly Lewa noticed something that made him stop in mid swing. "Watch out!" Arkam yelled. He swung into Lewa, sending them both crashing to the soft forest floor.

They grumbled as they got back to their feet. "Why did you stop?" Lewa didn't answer. He was too busy observing the area. Arkam then noticed as well. Everything was trashed. The ground was disturbed and torn up. Branches and trees were broken and had fallen over. It looked to them like there was a big struggle here.

"Whoa." Arkam said. "Yeah. Whoa. I better get the other Toa over here." "How are you gonna do that?" Arkam asked. Lewa suddenly held out something and grinned. It was a fire-work and a loud one at that. "I took it from Ta-Koro." It had a string on the end of it, that when pulled would send it off into the air then detonating it after a few seconds.

Lewa fired it into the air and it went off with a huge bang. Shortly after, all the other Toa appeared on the scene. Kopaka arrived last, carrying the beaten and unconscious, Nuhvok.

"Look who I found." Kopaka announced to the other Toa. "What the in the name of the spirit did you do?" Tahu questioned.

"I found him this way. All I did was knock him out." Kopaka argued defensively. "Well bring him over here," Gali instructed. "Let's wake him up and find out what happened."

Kopaka grumbled in disagreement, but lay Nuhvok down in front of them. Gali sprayed water on top of him to wake him up. Nuhvok coughed and shook his head, slowly coming to his senses.

He lay there awake, just staring at the sky for a moment trying to collect himself. He turned his head towards Kopaka. "Why did you kick me in the face." He said weakly.

"That's not important right now Nuhvok." Gali said in a calming voice, getting his attention. "We need to know what happened to Onua." Pohatu continued, crossing his arms. "We were attacked…by…some sort of serpent like creature with arms and legs…wielding a staff. Onua told me to get help. On my way back I was confronted by three others. I barely escaped with my life."

"But what happened to Onua?" Tahu asked eagerly. "I don't know." Nuhvok replied. He slowly started to get to his feet. "Arkam, escort Nuhvok back to Le-Koro for treatment." Tahu ordered. "Right." Arkam replied obediently.

Pohatu was now carefully examining the area. It looked to him like a large blast of energy had been fired. It looked like the trees and even the ground had been forced in one direction by immense force. He looked along the path of destruction until he suddenly saw a red figure in the distance, holding a staff.

It looked right back at Pohatu, then started to run off. "Hey!" Pohatu yelled, starting to chase it. His shout caught the attention of the other Toa and they immediately began to follow Pohatu.

They finally caught up with Pohatu, who was standing in front of a small cliff. At the top of the cliff standing in a row were six creatures, which fit Nuhvok's description perfectly. There was one of each elemental colour.

"What the hell are those things?" Gali asked in disgust. She thought they looked hideous. They were definitely creations of Makuta. "We are the Rahkshi and we have been assigned…no, created for the sole purpose of making all of you dead." The red one said with an evil grin.

"What have you done with Onua!" Lewa yelled in anger. If there was one thing that really bothered Lewa, it was death of comrades. He wanted him to make sure he was okay. "Answer me!"

Their attention was suddenly diverted to the black one, who started to reach for something behind his back. As he began to pull it out it shimmered against the afternoon sun. He then tossed it at Lewa's feet.

Lewa picked it up. A disturbed expression appeared on his face as he stared at it. The other Toa could see it as well. Just the site of it gave them a deep feeling of dread.

It was a golden Pakari. It was Onua's mask!


	8. Chapter 8: Wrath of the Rahkshi

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 8: Wrath of the Rahkshi 

Tears started to fill Gali's eyes as she stared at the ground, "No…Onua can't be dead…I don't believe it…"

Lewa dropped Onua's mask. "You…I'll kill you!" He yelled in rage, jumping up at Vorahk. He got ready to swing his axe when suddenly he felt immense pain in his stomach. He coughed blood. The green one had jumped up and kicked him in the stomach. "So fast…no one's that fast…" The pain felt crippling. It then hit him down to the ground with its staff, and landed back on the cliff.

The red one started to laugh mockingly. "You didn't even give us a chance to introduce ourselves." "I am Turahk." He then pointed to the green one, "That is Lerahk." Then to the black, "This is Vorahk." Then brown, "That's Panrahk." Then white, "Kurahk." Finally blue, "Last but not least, that is Guurahk."

Lewa had gotten back to his feet again, but he was still holding his gut.

"Are you done with your little introduction?" Kopaka asked impatiently. "Well, well, well." Kurahk said. "Who knew you were so eager to die." "Shut up!" Kopaka fired a blast of ice at Kurahk, but he quickly maneuvered out of the way of the blast.

Gali, Pohatu and Tahu jumped up and attacked the other Rahkshi. "You'll all pay for what you did to our brother!" Tahu yelled. Lerahk continued his attack on Lewa.

Kurahk landed next to Kopaka and shot a ring of energy out of his staff. The ring went into Kopaka but strangely he felt no pain. Absolutely nothing happened.

Then suddenly he felt it. He felt immense anger building up inside of him. Anger towards…Lewa. He was now breathing heavily in rage. He was so angry he forgot about everything. The Rahkshi, Onua's disappearance, everything. All he could think about was his anger towards Lewa.

"Stupid little bastard!" He thought to himself. "Never takes anything seriously. He thinks everything is a game." Kopaka was shaking he was so angry.

Kurahk laughed to himself. "Step down Lerahk; you don't need to worry about Lewa anymore. Looks like Kopaka is going to take care of him for us!"

Kopaka dashed at Lewa yelling in rage. "Kopaka what the heck are you doing!" Lewa yelled in surprise.

Kopaka's ice blade swung down upon Lewa, who quickly blocked it with his axe. They both stood there with there weapons clashed together, each of them pushing back trying to over-power the other.

"Kopaka are you insane! This is no time for us to fight!" Lewa pleaded with his brother. Kopaka did not desist.

Frost was starting to form on Lewa's axe where the two weapons touched. Suddenly Kopaka fell backwards and then slid forwards, kicking Lewa off his feet.

&&&&&&&&

Tahu was now forced to fight Turahk and Lerahk at once. Tahu was fighting to the best of his ability, but they were toying with him as if he were nothing.

Turahk was attacking Tahu with his staff. Each move was unpredictable and hard to read. Tahu was struggling to even defend himself.

Turahk swiped his staff at Tahu's feet, making him fall forward, losing his balance. Then he hit Tahu in the head sending him smashing to the floor.

Tahu was exhausted. He couldn't keep up with Turahk at all.

Suddenly Lerahk grabbed Tahu by the ankle with his staff and turned around and lifted Tahu over his head and smashed him on the ground. Twisting his staff, he then broke Tahu's ankle.

Tahu let out a cry of pain and started to pound his fists on the ground. "Get up!" Lerahk said, pulling Tahu to his feet and holding him in place. Lerahk stood behind Tahu, forcing him to face Turahk.

Turahk grabbed onto one end of his staff with both hands and then slung it over his left shoulder. Turahk scoffed "You call yourself a Toa? This was a big disappointment!" Turahk jumped in the air and spun around and swung his staff, hitting Tahu directly in the face with it.

Blood sprayed out of Tahu's face as he was struck to the ground. Turahk stood over Tahu's motionless body. "Pathetic."

&&&&&&&&

Pohatu struck Panrahk in the face with one of his colossal feet, hurling him into the air. Pohatu jumped above him and kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the ground.

Pohatu landed, panting. "Hurts don't it?" he said smiling. Pohatu felt a sharp pain in his back as he was lifted off his feet. Vorahk had clamped his staff on his back from behind and was slowly draining the energy from him.

"I've got your back brother." Vorahk said with a grin. Vorahk shot a blast from his staff sending Pohatu into the air. Panrahk jumped and kicked Pohatu, causing a mini explosion on contact, propelling him further into the air. Then as Panrahk fell back he pointed his staff upwards and shot an explosive blast at Pohatu.

Panrahk maneuvered himself so that he would land on his feet, causing the ground to explode underneath him. Vorahk and Panrahk hit their staffs together in victory as Pohatu smashed into the ground creating a crater.

&&&&&&&&

Gali was cornered at the bottom of the cliff, no place to go. Guurahk stood 10 feet in front of her. He had already disintegrated her left arm with a deadly blast from his staff. Gali was slouched forward from exhaustion and panting heavily.

She looked past Guurahk at her Toa brothers. They were all lying on the ground, motionless. She could not tell if they were alive or dead. Lewa and Kopaka's feud had ended as well. They had taken each other out.

She could see the other five Rahkshi approaching her.

"Is this the end?" Gali thought to herself. "Is this the end of the 'legendary heroes'? To be killed by the spawns of the very evil we were sent here to destroy?" A quick flash of gold rushed past her face for a second but her attention was turned back to the Rahkshi.

Panrahk and Vorahk stood next to Guurahk and the three of them pointed their staffs at her. "Quickly dispose of this one, and make it thorough." Turahk ordered impatiently. "With pleasure." Guurahk replied with a grin.

The tips of their staffs started to glow with brilliantly bright energy. Gali fell to her knees. "This is it…" she lowered her head bracing herself for the impending blast. Suddenly a figure stood in front of her, with its arms crossed across its chest getting ready to protect her from the blast.

"Onua, you're alive!" Gali yelled in surprise. Onua looked really messed up though. "I'm going to try and use shielding to block this!" He yelled to her. Gali nodded in understanding. "I just hope it will work." Onua thought

The three Rahkshi fired the immense blast. It lanced right through Onua's shield. The blast engulfed both Onua and Gali.

When the dust settled nothing was visible. All they could see was the large indentation that the blast had made in the cliff. It was filled with rubble.

"Come on, let's report back to Makuta." Turahk ordered with a smile of satisfaction on his face.


	9. Chapter 9: Transformations

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 9: Transformations

"Uhhh…..Where am I?" His vision was hazy. All he could see around him was black with strange sparkles of different coloured light. He felt lightheaded and his voice sounded echoed.

"Where am I?" He thought in confusion. "Am I…_dead_?"

"Tahu…." A familiar voice called out to him. "What? Who's that? Turaga Vakama is that you?"

"Tahu…." It called out again. Tahu began to shout out "Where are you! I can't see you!" "Can you hear me Tahu….?" "Yes I can hear you but where are you?" "You must wake up Tahu…." "Where are you?" Tahu yelled.

"I'm right….**here**!" Suddenly Turahk's fierce face was inches from his. His hands were clenched around Tahu's neck. "Pathetic Toa!" Turahk mocked. "No!" Tahu started pushing back at Turahk

Suddenly he found the world around him changing rapidly to a familiar setting. Everything became clear and he found himself sitting up in a hut in Le-Koro. Sitting next to him was Turaga Vakama. Tahu was not wearing his mask.

"It's alright Tahu. That was just a dream." Vakama assured him. Tahu groaned as he rubbed his head. There was dressing bandaged around it.

"How did I get here?" He asked the fire Turaga. "Nuhvok and Arkam found all of you in the forest. What happened to you?" The Turaga asked. "We were attacked by Rahkshi. Apparently they are Makuta's new warriors. We stood no chance against them."

"You've been unconscious for about three days now." Vakama brought up. Tahu's eyes widened. "Three days!" "Yeah, three days. We thought you weren't going to make it."

"What about the others? How are they doing?" Tahu asked in concern. "Pohatu will be ok, he's been moving around a bit. Kopaka should fine. Lewa had been stabbed through his chest with a blade. Had it not been for a bulla berry he would have bled to death." Vakama explained. "And what about Gali and Onua? Did they even find Onua?" "Actually yes they did, underneath a pile of rubble," Vakama's gaze fell to the floor and he sighed, "but I'm afraid they are in very critical condition. We've given them many bulla berries but I'm afraid it may be a while before they are well again."

"Let me see them now." Tahu demanded. "No Tahu. You're too weak right now, you need rest." Vakama insisted. "Don't tell me what to d-…." As Tahu stood up he felt a sharp pain in his leg. "I told you, you're still too battered. You need rest, don't worry they are in good hands."

&&&&&&&&

Vorahk poked his head into the slightly opened door of Makuta's throne room. Panrahk stood behind him. "What are they talking about?" He asked Vorahk. "Shut up brother or I won't be able to hear them!" He said sternly.

"You will know when the time is right to put the plan into action and will act as previously instructed. Understand?"

"Yes master. I understand completely." Atukam answered. "Good. Now take your leave to Metru Nui. I'm counting on you Atukam and I will not accept failure." Makuta continued. "I will leave immediately, my lord." Atukam gave a solemn bow, then turned around and headed towards the door.

Vorahk pulled his head back and closed the door. "Quick hide he's coming!" Vorahk told his brother has they jumped into the shadows of the pillars that ran along the sides of the hall. Atukam walked out of the and down the hall until he was out of site.

Suddenly Panrahk and Vorahk saw the other four Rahkshi appear from hiding on the other side of the hall. They jumped out as well. "So I guess you were all spying too huh?" Panrahk asked. "Yeah, but we're really here because Makuta has called for us." Kurahk told them.

"Why weren't we informed?" Vorahk asked. "Because you just weren't around." Turahk simply said.

The six Rahkshi proceeded to walk into Makuta's chamber. They stood in a row and knelt down before him. They sat with their heads bowed until they were spoken to.

"I am not happy my sons." Makuta started. "Why is that father?" Turahk asked. "Because you have let me down." He replied, with a strangely calm tone. "What do you mean?" Vorahk asked. "You have failed me!" Makuta's bellowing shout made the chamber shake.

"We don't understand. We killed the Toa. They're dead!" Guurahk argued. "That is where you are wrong my sons." Makuta continued, calming down. "The Toa have indeed survived." "Then let us return to them and finish the job!" Turahk quickly shouted.

"No." Makuta said. "I have a much more pressing matter for the six of you." "What is it father?" Panrahk asked.

Suddenly Makuta threw down a stone tablet, a little bigger than the size of a Kanohi mask. Turahk picked it up. The picture on it was glowing with a vibrant light. "What is this?" Turahk asked inquisitively.

"That is a picture of Kanohi Avohkii, the mask of light." Makuta explained. "What does this mean?" Kurahk asked. "That tablet glowing means that the mask has revealed itself. You **must **find this mask and prevent the 7th Toa from awakening. Use the tablet to guide you."

"But where do w-." Vorahk started. "NOW!" Makuta ordered. The Rahkshi quickly ran out of the chamber.

"They had better not fail me. If they do it could be the death of me." A smile suddenly appeared on Makuta's face. "Of course I do have 'him' as a back-up plan. If I were to die 'he' would awaken and come through for me. I am sure of it."

&&&&&&&&

Arkam sits on the edge of the window in his room, writing in his journal. "It has been a week since the Toa's defeat and they are looking much better. They are all looking well and moving about. Even Onua and Gali, whom were in the worst condition of all of them, most of them have started their training again, Lewa in particular. Something must have really gotten him motivated…"

"Arkam come down here!" Lewa yelled from the ground below. "What is it Lewa?" he replied, shouting back. "The Turaga have called for us. It's something important! Come on!" Lewa insisted.

Arkam ran out of his hut and jumped onto a vine and slid down to where Lewa was. "Okay, let's go." Arkam said. Arkam started to follow Lewa. They ran until they saw the other five Toa, Nuhvok and the Turaga standing in front of the mouth of a cave.

"Now that you're finally here Lewa, we can get down to business." Vakama started. "I think I have a way that could make you all much stronger than you are now."

"Are you kidding me! What is it! Come on tell us!" Lewa burst with excitement. "Keep your head on Lewa." Gali said. Vakama continued, ignoring Lewa's little outburst.

"In this cave are vats of a substance called energized protodermis. If someone who is destined to be changed is dipped into it they will change and gain great power. It is risky however. If it is not your destiny to be changed….it will destroy you!" Everyone but the Turaga flinched in shock.

"Remember this may be your only chance to defeat the Rahkshi. This is especially necessary because of this." Vakama held out a glowing stone tablet. "Avohkii the mask of light has revealed itself!"

"What's the mask of light?" Tahu asked in confusion. "The mask of light belongs to the 7th Toa who is destined to defeat Makuta. Makuta has most likely sent the Rahkshi to find the mask of light and prevent the 7th Toa from coming into being. You must not let that happen. That is why your transformations are so necessary." Vakama sounded urgent.

The Toa all looked at each other then returned their gaze to Vakama and gave him an agreeing nod.

&&&&&&&&

"You're all sure that you want to do this?" Nuhvok asked with concern. "I mean what if you all end up dieing? What do we do then?"

"Yeah," Arkam added, "if you guys die, Makuta will take over Mata Nui for sure. Then we'll all be slaves."

"Don't worry about it Arkam." Lewa gave him thumbs up, "We're the legendary Toa. There is no way the Great Spirit would allow us to die like this." He said reassuringly.

"Yeah, you're probably right Lewa. There's nothing to worry about." Pohatu said, feeling happier.

&&&&&&&&

All six Toa stood on circular platforms that, when lowered, would dip them into the energized protodermis. "Are you guys' positive you want to go through with this?" Vakama asked one last time.

"Yes! Let's do this already!" Kopaka urged impatiently.

Vakama through the switch and they were dipped into the vats of the energized substance.

Kopaka could not see anything but bright light. He fell to his knees, feeling the swirling energy seep into every part of his body. The world around him was filled with a roaring power as he felt his body morph and transform.

The Turaga, Arkam and Nuhvok stood in awe as the protodermis glowed with a very bright light. The light died down and the platforms started to rise. Six figures sat crouched on each platform. The protodermis started to drain back into the vats they were held in.

The six of them stood tall and triumphant in their new forms. Clad in new amour, equipped with new weapons, they were no longer Toa. They were Toa Nuva!


	10. Chapter 10: Struggle for Avohkii

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 10: Struggle for Avohkii 

The Rahkshi had been exploring Le-Wahi for a number of days now. "Are you sure you're reading that tablet properly?" Vorahk asked in a frustrated manner. "Yes I'm sure!" Turahk yelled back. "At least I think I am…"

"Give me that!" Kurahk snatched it out of Turahk's hand. Kurahk observed it. Kurahk then pointed the tablet towards a nearby boulder. The light was projecting an image of a map onto the boulder. "That's how it works." Kurahk said to Turahk, tossing the tablet back to him.

"Where did Panrahk go?" Vorahk asked. Suddenly bunches of Bohrok were blasted out of a section in the forest. Panrahk jumped out and landed on the bodies. "It's time to eat!" He said, with a grin.

&&&&&&&&

"These Krana are freakin' delicious!" Guurahk said contently, taking another big bite out of one. "Hey, uh, do you think we should be eating these?" Lerahk asked cautiously. "I don't think Makuta would want us eating his soldiers."

"It's just a few Bohrok. What's the harm?" Vorahk assured him.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Lerahk then grabbed a Krana and ate it.

After they finished eating the Bohrok they set out to find a location that was marked on the light map that the tablet had made.

"What do you think Makuta will do with us once we've successfully taken care of the Toa?" Guurahk asked.

"I don't think that really matters." Vorahk retorted. "What we should really be concerned about is what will happen to us if he ends up dieing."

"That is a very good point brother." Panrahk concurred.

"I can tell you one thing brothers. I don't like being his little messenger boy. And I'm tired of doing all of his dirty work." Turahk said leering.

They pushed their way out the brush into a clearing. Before them stood a large monument covered in plants. All that they could actually make of it was the shape.

Lerahk looked at Turahk eagerly. Turahk sighed, "Fine you can do it."

Lerahk gave an excited grin as he stabbed his staff into the ground. The poison from his staff spread over the entire temple. All of the plants began to turn a black colour and started to fall off. When all the plants fell they knew they were at the right place. The shape of the front entrance was that off a giant mask of light.

Turahk looked left and right at his brothers. "Let's go."

They entered the main chamber. It was pitch black. The light from outside only went in about five feet.

"What do we do about the light?" Vorahk asked.

Suddenly a bunch of torches lit up along the ceiling and standing right before them were the six Toa Nuva and Nuhvok.

"How's that for light!" Onua yelled running at Vorahk.

"What the-" Onua kicked Vorahk right in the face, sending him crashing into the temple wall. Vorahk sat stunned with his back against the wall.

Onua brought his chainsaw down upon Vorahk's neck, decapitating him. Onua then ran his other chainsaw across Vorahk's back, cutting it open. The Rahkshi's blood spilled all over the temple floor.

Panrahk, in a blind rage ran into Onua body-checking him through a wall. Panrahk then jumped in after Onua.

"Rahkshi, scatter and find the mask of light!" Turahk commanded. The four of them jumped in all different directions. The Toa scattered as well to try and keep up with the Rahkshi.

"Nuhvok, we'll keep them busy while you find Avohkii!" Tahu instructed.

&&&&&&&

Panrahk delivered strike upon strike upon Onua. Onua was blocking nearly every one of them. Their weapons clashed together and started pushing against each other.

Onua's chainsaws were blaring, sending sparks everywhere as it grinded with Panrahk's staff. Panrahk then kicked Onua in the leg, putting him on one knee. Onua countered, striking one of his upwards and cutting at Panrahk's chest.

Panrahk jumped back in recoil. Both stood across each other, panting. Panrahk inspected his now bleeding wound. He made a snarling expression as he rushed at Onua once again.

Panrahk jumped and delivered a series of kicks on Onua. Each kick created a miniature explosion on his body. Panrahk landed, and then jumped again pulling in both of his feet. He gave Onua a double kick to the face, sending him crashing through another wall.

Panrahk then pointed his staff at the hole he kicked Onua through and fired continuous blasts. "YAHYAHYAHAYAH! DIE TOA SCUM!" He screamed as he fired the explosive blasts. Panrahk ceased his barrage and approached the opening in the wall.

Panrahk let out a cough from all the dust that had been created. "Maybe I over did it…. Then again, nah!" He said laughing.

"I'd say you let up too soon!" Onua yelled, kicking Panrahk's head. The force from the kick sent Panrahk backwards off of his feet. Onua thrust one of his chainsaws upwards into Panrahk's back. The chain ripped into Panrahk's flesh. "Gaaaaah!" Panrahk yelled in pain.

Onua then jumped into the air and raised his foot up high and sent it crashing back down onto Panrahk, smashing him through the floor.

Onua stood panting above the whole, looking into its dark abyss. "Is that it?"

"Guess who!" a voice yelled, clamping its staff on Onua's neck. The being pushed back and pinned Onua to the wall, in a familiar situation.

"Vorahk….how?" Onua wondered, gasping for air. "Hehehe, there is a slug-like creature inside my back called a Kraata. It is part of Makuta himself. A gift from father to sons. As long as our Kraata exist, we cannot be killed. Though only our Kraata grant us this ability. Most just infect masks." He explained with a grin.

"I'm going to enjoy draining the life from you…again. My, my you've gotten much stronger since the last time we fought. I will enjoy consuming all of it!"

"Don't count on it!" A voice yelled. A large black ball came flying through the air and crashed into Vorahk. Onua was released from Vorahk's grasp as the black ball sent Vorahk across the chamber.

The ball reformed, and it turned out to be Nuhvok. "Looks like I got here just in time." He said grinning.

Onua was loosening the tension in his neck with his hand. Suddenly something shined that caught his eye. It was strapped to Nuhvok's back. "Is that the mask of light!" Onua yelled in surprise.

Nuhvok snapped to attention. "Oh, yeah I got it." Nuhvok reached behind his back to retrieve the mask when suddenly Panrahk ran out of nowhere and nabbed it. "Hey he took the mask!" Nuhvok yelled.

"Suckers!" Panrahk shouted back to them. Suddenly Gali appeared and hit Panrahk in the gut with one of her aqua axes'. She grabbed the mask that Panrahk had released and started to run.

The ground under her feet began to crumble and deteriorate until it caved in and she fell to the floor below it. Gali groaned from the pain of the fall. The mask had landed a few feet away from her. Guurahk then appeared and picked it up. "Thanks for dropping by." He smirked before running off.

A blast of ice hit Guurahk, projecting and freezing him to the wall. "What? Damn it!" Guurahk yelled in frustration as he strained to try and break free.

Kopaka emerged from the shadows that hid him. He snatched the mask out of Guurahk's hand. "Stupid Rahkshi."

Kurahk came and kicked Kopaka sending him smashing through the ceiling, back into the main chamber. Kopaka lay on the floor, still holding the Avohkii in his hand.

Kurahk jumped up and landed in front of Kopaka. He raised the end of his staff above Kopaka's body. "First you die, and then I take the mask."

"Don't count on it!" Tahu yelled slashing both of his swords down upon Kurahk's shoulders, severing the arms. Kurahk let out a cry as he fell to his knees in pain. Pohatu came and gave Kurahk a colossal kick, sending crashing through the wall of the temple at a high speed.

"I don't think he'll be back anytime soon." Pohatu said with a smile. The other three Toa and Nuhvok then showed up. "Well we got the mask so let's get out of here." Tahu said.

"I don't think so!" Turahk yelled, landing before them along with the other four Rahkshi that were still there. Turahk released energy from his staff that seeped into each of the Toa, leaving them terrified of unseen entities.

Turahk let out a laugh. "Fear is our greatest weapon isn't it?" He walked up and took the mask of light from Kopaka and picked up Kurahk's staff. "Blast them." Turahk commanded as he walked away. Vorahk, Panrahk and Guurahk all shot their blasts at the Toa, leaving them in rubble.

&&&&&&&&

Turahk stood outside the temple, spinning the mask of light on his finger. "Did you find Kurahk?" He asked Lerahk and Panrahk who were emerging from the forest. As they fully made their way out Turahk saw that they were dragging Kurahk. Kurahk's arms had grown back, though he was severely weakened.

"Are we going to bring it back to Makuta?" Vorahk asked. "Because, we could probably use this to bribe Makuta into giving us more power. And if Makuta doesn't give us what we want, we could always threaten to give it to the Toa."

"Are you suggesting that we betray our master!" Turahk shouted, sounding outraged. "I like the way you think."


	11. Chapter 11: The Light Within

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 11: The Light Within

The Rahkshi were walking down the familiar passage that led to Makuta's throne. They walked in a row side-by-side. They pushed open the large door that led to Makuta's chamber.

Makuta stood up immediately as the Rahkshi walked in. They approached Makuta. "Where is the mask of light?" he asked, noticing that it was not with them.

"We're sick of doing your dirty work without getting anything in return." Turahk started.

"Where is the mask!" Makuta bellowed.

Turahk started to cockily pace back and forth in front of Makuta. "If you give us what we want we will give you the mask. If not then we will be forced to give it to the Toa. And you wouldn't want tha-." Turahk was cut off by Makuta plunging his giant double-bladed spear into his gut. He lifted the impaled Turahk closer so that they were face to face.

"You're all foolish to think you can turn against me. You shall all be punished severely for it!" Makuta yelled, punching the top half of Turahk so that he split in half. His halves went in opposite directions across the chamber.

The other five Rahkshi jumped at Makuta. "Let's see you try to take on all of us!" Kurahk yelled.

Makuta held out his hand and immediately the Rahkshi felt throbbing pain in the backs. "What? Did you think that your Kraata just granted you the powers to revive? You shall learn your place…" The Rahkshi were now all on the floor, writhing in pain. "…the hard way."

&&&&&&&&

The Toa moved swiftly through the trees, following a troop of Tahnoks. "Are you sure they will lead us to Makuta?" Tahu whispered to Nuhvok.

"Yeah…I'm pretty sure." Nuhvok replied with uncertainty. He was not one-hundred percent sure but he couldn't let the Toa know that.

"You don't know at all do you?" Kopaka asked in retort.

"Well, uh…no." he said laughing nervously. _"So much for that I guess." _

"Look! I think Nuhvok was right!" Gali suddenly pointed out. The Tahnoks were opening a cave in the side of a cliff. They entered the passage and the door slowly started to close again.

"Move, now!" Tahu commanded. The Toa quickly ran through the doorway, and it sealed shut.

The Toa and Nuhvok caught up to the troop of Tahnoks and they quickly disposed of them.

They snuck throughout the corridors, searching for the mask of light. "The tablet says that it is north-west of here." Lewa told them as he observed the bright stone. "Wait a minute… It's moving!" Lewa yelled.

"Quick then, lead the way!" Pohatu said eagerly. "I hate this place!"

The Toa all rushed through the large stone doors and burst into the large chamber. "Makuta! Give us Avohkii now!" Onua yelled. The mask of light was in Makuta's hand.

Makuta looked in surprise at the six Toa Nuva. "Well, well, well… I had no idea of this. But do you really think your transformations will make any difference?"

"We can only hope." Gali said with a grin.

"You may have defeated me last time Toa, but remember this; this is my true form and it is much more powerful."

"I don't care what your real form is! That mask is leaving with us!" Kopaka retorted.

A great battle ensued between Makuta and the Toa Nuva. The Toa Nuva fought well but were greatly outmatched by the shadow spirit's immense power. Beaten and utterly defeated the Toa Nuva and Nuhvok lay beaten on the ground at Makuta's mercy.

"What now Toa? How will you save your precious island now? The Matoran shall worship and serve me forever. And once this island is under my control I will move onto the other…"

Suddenly Avohkii started to glow with a magnificent light. The light was so intense that Makuta had to cover his eyes. The Toa Nuva and Nuhvok were blinded as well.

The Toa Nuva felt a strange feeling building inside of them. "What…is…happening…to us…" Pohatu said, struggling to speak from the pain. An orb of light emerged from each of their bodies. They felt a throbbing pain, but only for a moment, as it came out.

The six orbs shot into the mask of light.

"I can't see…what's going on?" Tahu rubbed his eyes, trying to see again. As his vision returned he saw a figure standing before him and the other Toa Nuva. "It can't be…can it?" He said lowly. "The 7th Toa..."

Makuta's vision cleared. "No! It can't be!" He yelled in surprise.

"Oh, but it can Makuta. And it is! I am Takanuva! And I will be the one to bring you down!" He said triumphantly.

"Never! I will never die!" Makuta yelled, swinging down his weapon towards Takanuva. Takanuva brought up his own spear and blocked Makuta's attack.

Takanuva rolled to the side, making Makuta slip forward, and his weapon clash with the floor. Taka slashed at Makuta's leg, bringing him down onto one knee. Taka then jumped overtop Makuta and pulled his spear behind his head and brought is slashing down upon Makuta.

The Toa Nuva watched as the two great beings battled against each other. They were almost evenly matched, but Takanuva was slowlystarting to lose.

Takanuva stood in front of Makuta and jumped up towards his head and slashed his spear. Makuta blocked the attack with his own weapon, and grabbed Takanuva by the neck with his other hand. "I will crush you like the insignificant Toa you are!" Makuta got ready to stabbed Takanuva through his golden armor with his large double-edged weapon.

Suddenly six blasts of energy lanced into Makuta, projecting him across the chamber. The Toa Nuva had regained enough strength to help Takanuva out.

Takanuva smiled at his Toa brothers and sister then directed his attention back to Makuta.

Takanuva held out his weapon in front of him, the blade touching the ground. Light energy was swirling around Takanuva and into the edge of his weapon, making it start to glow. Takanuva lifted his spear behind his and tensed his body, getting ready to fire the blast.

"Final Flash!" Takanuva yelled as he slashed his weapon down towards the ground, sending a massive wave of light energy across the chamber towards Makuta.

"No! This can't be!" Makuta yelled. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" The blast hit Makuta incinerating every part of his body. Hidden in the shadows, six staff wielding figures quickly fled the chamber.

Takanuva fell to his knees from exhaustion. Looked back at the Toa Nuva and gave a smile, but then fell to his side, and started to chuckle to himself.

The Toa Nuva fell as well. Though very worn down and beaten they all had smiles on their faces as they felt the shadow aura lift from the area.

"It's over." Gali stated contently. "It's finally over…"

Note: Whenever a quote is completely italic, that means that the person was thinking. So when you read someone's thoughts "_it will look like this._"


	12. Chapter 12: Strangers

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 12: Strangers

"Lewa, come here quick!" Arkam yelled out. He was standing on the western shoreline of Le-Wahi.

"What is it Arkam?" Lewa yelled urgently coming out of the trees. Lewa suddenly halted has he stared in awe at the site before him. Two crashed machines, lying smoking on the beach.

"What are those things?" Arkam asked in wonder. He had seen machines like the boxer-vehicle before, but never anything this advanced.

"They looked like ships." Lewa replied, not taking his eyes off of them.

"Where did they come from?" Arkam continued.

"I don't know, but somebody was operating them." Lewa replied.

The first one looked as though the fronthatch had been smashed open from the inside. Lewa poked his head inside of it as Arkam checked out the other one.

Sparks were still jumping every now and then. It looked like the vessel could hold about twenty Matoran. There were seats, some of which that were smashed and out of place. It appeared to be meant primarily for passengers.

Lewa jumped inside and sat in the front seat. He looked at the switches and couldn't help but see if one did something. He pressed a couple but nothing happened. He looked at a ledge on the left side. It had a circular slot that looked like an object of appropriate shape would fit into it.

Lewa then looked beside his seat to the right. There were a few strange disks sitting stacked up. Not resisting the impulse, Lewa picked one up and it loaded perfectly into the slot. He then noticed a lever right next to the slot. Lewa pulled it back hard and the disk was launched flying into the air and crashed into some rocks, destroying them.

"Whoa…" Lewa said in shock.

Arkam had jumped inside the other one. Inside there were strange weapons all along the wall.

"Huh, looks military. It must have been chasing the othership." Arkam thought out-loud.

"Hey Arkam come out here!" Lewa yelled to him, poking his head in the ship. Arkam followed him out and they stood on top of the ship.

"What is that?" Lewa asked curiously, pointing out at sea, at the horizon. It looked like there was land there, but barely visible.

"I'm not sure. I think it's an island. A ship travels across from the water there occasionally. Though it hasn't come here in a very long time. Usually, there is only one guy that comes off the ship, but the Turaga never let us see him." Arkam explained.

"Well how come I've never known of this?" Lewa asked suspiciously.

"Is it possible that you have never been here before?" Arkam asked gleaming. He already knew the answer.

"Well…I guess not!" Lewa said with a big grin on his face. They both started to laugh. As they did Lewa's eye's trailed to the sandy beach below.

"Hey check out those foot prints!" Lewa exclaimed, jumping off the ship and landing on the beach. Arkam followed.

They both inspected the prints. "They look fairly fresh. It looks like there are three different types of prints too." Lewa stated.

"You mean three beings?" Arkam asked.

"No I mean three different types of beings. We had better inform the others of this." Lewa said, gesturing for Arkam to follow him.

&&&&&&&&

One hour earlier…

The air vessel did a side-ways barrel roll, dodging a blast from the ship behind it.

"Matau if you do that again I swear to the spirit I will make you pay!" Whenua said, feeling sick.

"Whenua you need to get your flying nerves in order, otherwise this is gonna be an unpleasant flight for you my friend." Matau said laughing.

"Trust me Matau; I will make things very unpleasant for you later if you do that again." Whenua retorted.

"Why don't you now then? Huh, tough guy?" Matau jokingly challenged. A blast hit the ship making it shake. "That's why, now pay attention to where you're flying!" Whenua yelled.

"Matau maybe I should fly it. It took me a while to build this and I don't want you to wreck it." Onewa suggested.

"Hey! We built it together! Plus, remember the rules; you build, I fly. That's the law." Matau argued.

"And what law would that be?" Nokama asked, humoring Matau.

"The laws of the air!" He said, suddenly accelerating. Nuju was working the radar. "It's gaining on us Matau!" He yelled.

"Maneuver smart, not recklessly." Vakama commanded.

"Don't worry; your Toa of Air has got it all under control! There's nothing to-." Suddenly a blast hit their rear. "Uh-oh…" Matau said lowly.

"What 'uh-oh'?" Vakama asked anxiously. "The uh…engine just got blasted…" Matau was now nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"I swear to…!" Whenua started but then Matau quickly countered. "I can still guide us to a safe landing though. Don't worry guys, we're close enough." Matau unconfidently assured.

"I'll try to slow them down!" Nokama said. She opened the top hatch. "Be careful Nokama." Whenua said. "Don't worry about me, I can handle this!" She replied.

Half of Nokama's body was sticking out of the hatch. She crossed her two weapons. "Now if I can just hit where we hit earlier…" She said. "Wave blast!" She yelled firing energy from her crossed weapons. The blast hit the spot directly and she could see the enemy ship start to lose control.

She ducked back inside and shut the hatch. "That should slow them down." She said smiling.

Their ship was falling towards the beach of the island. They crashed and grinded across the sand about 50 feet. The ship was severely damaged afterwards.

Banging noises could be heard from inside their ship. The hatch then flew off, and Whenua climbed out. Whenua looked back into the hatch. "Tehutti you ok?" He grabbed Tehutti's arm and pulled him out. Whenua then pulled out Vhisola, Orkham and Ehrye.

Whenua jumped down, letting the others out. They all got out. "You ok Nokama?" Whenua asked. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The other ship suddenly crashed right next to them. Out of the ship burst six elite Vahki. "Run!" Vakama yelled.

"You will not get away this time!" One of the Vahki shouted. The Toa and four Matoran sprinted in different directions into the forest.

Ehrye looked back as he was following after Nuju. "Where is it Nuju?" He asked. "I don't know Ehrye, just keep running for now and we can meet up with the others." Suddenly he heard a loud scream. It sounded like Nokama.

"Nokama!" Whenua yelled, turning back around. "Master Whenua we have to keep running!" Tehutti insisted. "Forget that!" Whenua disagreed. Suddenly someone got Whenua in a bear-hug, holding him back. It was Onewa.

"Damnit Onewa!" Whenua shouted, struggling. "Let go of me!"

"Calm down Whenua! We regroup now, fight later!" Onewa insisted.

"But..." Whenua started. "But nothing. Don't worry, we'll find Nokama again. Besides, she can take care of herself." Onewa assured. Whenua groaned in disagreement butstarted to desist. He wanted to fight, but more importantly, he wanted to help Nokama.

"Now let's get out of here!" Onewa yelled. The three of them ran off further into thejungle.

&&&&&&&&

"_How I have come into being I am unsure of. Who created me or what my purpose is, I have no idea. I do know something however. I know thirteen names of importance. The names of thirteen enemies that will try to stop me. I feel their strength, even now. I can sense it. I hunger for this strength, but I feel others as well. I feel all that inhabit this island. Every creature that makes up the island's very ecology. But, not only do I take their strength. I must also take the power of their relics. The relics that they keep with them religiously. The ones that they would rather die to protect than give up. Their relics will be the key to my greatness! And nothing will stand in my way! Nothing! _"

Note: Ultimate Bionicle has now truly begun...


	13. Chapter 13: Mysterious Encounters

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 13: Mysterious Encounters 

Two Po-Matoran were walking across the desert, back to Po-Koro. It was dusk and the sun was producing a magnificent orange colour on the horizon. The first Po-Matoran wore a Kakama, the second wore a Miru. The first Po-Matoran took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Have you noticed that ever since Makuta was defeated, the air seems sweeter?" He asked his companion.

"It seems easier to breathe, yes. But sweeter? How does it taste sweeter?" the second one replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's the sense of security it gives me in knowing that everything is at peace again." He said putting his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"Maybe all this work in the sun has finally gotten to your brain. It's making you act weird." The second one said laughing.

The ground suddenly shook underneath them. They both halted and looked at each other, acknowledging that they had both felt the same thing.

"Where do you suppose that came from?" The first one asked.

"Maybe, it's a nest of Nui-Jaga, right underneath us." The second one said, getting nervous.

"Don't worry my friend; it was probably just a little tremor." The first one said, continuing to walk.

The ground shook again, this time more furiously. "That doesn't feel like a little tremor to me…" The second said, now feeling fear. A crack opened up in the ground about 5 feet away from them.

The noise made the second Po-Matoran hide behind his friend. "Come on Jamga!" The first one said, getting frustrated. "It's nothing! I'm telling you!"

"I think something's down there Horkii." Jamga said, refusing to move.

"Fine, I'll check it out then." Horkii said confidently.

"No, don't!" Jamga pleaded. "Jamga why are you so scared! You were brave against the Bohrok!" Horkii argued.

"I'm not sure…I just have a bad feeling." Jamga said nervously.

Horkii crouched in front of the small crack and looked inside. There was nothing to see at all. It looked just like a normal little hole in the ground.

Horkii stood up and looked at Jamga shamefully. "Now who's been working too hard? Come on let's go."

Jamga nodded and started to walk towards his friend.

Without warning, a black claw burst out of the crack and grabbed Horkii, yanking him under, making the hole larger. Jamga sprinted towards where his friend had gone under, now in a state of great panic.

"Horkii! Horkii! Are you alright!" He yelled anxiously. He could hear his friend's agonizing screams for help. There was a tearing noise, then silence.

Jamga shot up. He was so panicked that he was breathing like all the air on Mata Nui had been stripped away. He looked in the hole again and saw a pair of glowing eyes staring right back at him. "Horkii?" He asked nervously.

&&&&&&&&

"He went that way Pohatu! Cut him off!" Onua yelled to the Toa of Stone. They were in the midst of hunting down Vorahk and Panrahk. Pohatu nodded in understanding and ran off to the side among the trees. Onua could no longer see Pohatu.

Onua stopped. "Where did they go?" He said panting. Pohatu stuck his head out of some bushes. Onua spotted him. Pohatu gestured for him to follow. "I've found them." He whispered.

&&&&&&&&

"How much longer do we have to keep running like this brother?" Panrahk asked with exhaustion. "I don't know Panrahk. But we should have helped Makuta out that day two months ago. Who would have known that with him dead not only are we weakened but our Kraata are useless?"

An Earth being suddenly entered the clearing, followed by a Matoran. Vorahk and Panrahk shot to their feet. Their guard suddenly dropped.

"That's not Onua…" Vorahk said with confusion. "But it is a Toa."

"Brother let's go. He's of no concern to us. Onua and Pohatu will catch up with us any moment now." Panrahk insisted.

"No. Our Kraata may not work, but our staffs do and I could use some energy!" He said with a grin rushing at the Earth Toa.

"Hmm?" Whenua said, just realizing the Rahkshi rushing at him. Whenua quickly dodged Vorahk's strike. "_What's a Rahkshi doing here?_"

The Rahkshi kept striking at him, but he was simply dodging each attack. "I could use a little exercise." Whenua said with enthusiasm.

He grabbed Vorahk's staff, stopping it. He then punched him hard in the chest, projecting him across the clearing, releasing the staff from his hand. Whenua stood there holding the staff; he threw it to the ground.

"Come on Rahkshi! Is that the best you can do!" Whenua taunted.

"Grrrrr. I'll kill you!" Vorahk ran at him again. Whenua swayed to the side and kicked Vorahk in the stomach, making him fall to his knees gagging. A stone Toa now entered the clearing.

Whenua grabbed Vorahk's head. "You're not even worth the effort. I expected more from a Rahkshi." Whenua said in disappointment.

"You'll pay Toa! All Toa will pa-." Whenua snapped Vorahk's neck, letting his body fall to the floor. "That was unnecessary don't you think?" Onewa said.

"Nah, but I wish I got more out of it." Whenua replied shrugging. Onua and Pohatu emerged from the forest.

"Who the heck are you?" Onua said, looking perplexed.

Whenua looked at Onewa. "Aren't they those fake Toa that guy Atukam warned us about?" Whenua whispered. Onewa gasped in realization. "You're right! We should probably get out of here. We can't fight them as is."

"Are you kidding me?" Whenua said in surprise. "There's one for you and one for me! We can take these guys!" Whenua looked at Tehutti. "You stay back in the bushes." Tehutti nodded and complied.

Whenua rushed at Onua kicking him in the face. Onua was hit into a tree. Onua got up, wiping the blood from his mouth. "Well Pohatu, I think I know what side they're on." Pohatu nodded and rushed at Onewa.

Whenua pulled out his earth-shock drills and began to fight Onua. They clashed their weapons together attempting to hit one-another. Onua kicked at Whenua's legs, knocking him off balance.

Whenua hit the ground and he saw Onua's chainsaw come thrusting down to his chest. Whenua rolled out of the way, and the chainsaw dug into the ground. Whenua rushed again, hitting Onua in the face with one of his earth-shock drills. Onua was sent spinning to the ground.

Suddenly the ground beneath Whenua caved in, as a result of the chainsaw. Onua jumped in after him, landing on his chest. "Gaaahh!" Whenua said, spitting out blood from the blow. Onua kicked him the face, and jumped again, pulling a chainsaw behind his head, getting ready to cut Whenua in two.

The chainsaw came down but Whenua blocked it by crossing his drills where the weapon was going to hit. It became a standoff as Onua continued to try to drive it into Whenua, and Whenua tried to drive it away.

"Just…accept…defeat…and die!" Onua yelled as he struggled.

A blast of flame hit Onua in the back sending him flying off of Whenua. Whenua looked up to see Vakama in the trees. He had shot Onua with a disk launcher blast. Whenua got out of the hole to see that Pohatu had been taken care of as well.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Vakama said with a serious expression.

&&&&&&&&

Panrahk was jumping through the trees in panic. Having just witnessed his brother's death, he did not know what else to do. He stopped running to catch his breath. He slowly climbed out of the tree and sat down against its trunk to rest.

Panrahk lowered his head and closed his eyes, panting heavily. "Forgive me brother…" He said before dozing off.

&&&&&&&&

"My liege, the tunnel is almost complete, and then we can start building the new establishment." A Tahnok said, knelt before the Bahrag.

"Very good. We expect it to be completed by tomorrow." Cahdok said. "There have been some set backs…" The Tahnok said nervously.

"What do you mean 'set backs'?" Gahdok asked getting angry.

"Some Bohrok have been going missing. We can't find them." The Tahnok explained.

"So? Get some more!" Cahdok yelled impatiently. The Tahnok trembled. "Yes my liege."

Suddenly echoing shouts could be heard from far down the tunnel. "What the heck was that?" Gahdok said angrily. "All of you go find out what that was now!" She commanded.

The Tahnok and about twenty other Bohrok ran towards the end of the tunnel. When then got in they witnessed a ghastly site.

Every single Bohrok had been slaughtered. Blood was all over the chamber. One lone Nuhvok stood trembling in the middle of the room, too scared to move. "What the heck did you do!" The Tahnok yelled angrily.

Something dropped out of the ceiling and grabbed the trembling Nuhvok and pulled it back up into the darkness. The Nuhvok screamed for helpas it was pulled up.

The others rushed towards where the Nuhvok stood and looked up, but they saw nothing. Suddenly pieces of the Nuhvok started to fall. "What in Makuta's name…" The Tahnok said in shock.

"There's something wrong Tahnok." One of the Bohrok said. The Tahnok turned and looked at him, expecting and explanation. "All these Bohrok… Their Krana are missing."

&&&&&&&&

The sound of rustling startled Panrahk and woke him up. He jumped to his feet, grabbing his staff. It was nighttime now, though he didn't know how long he had been sleeping. He looked around frantically to see what made the noise.

Panrahk heard nothing else, but noticed something that sent chills up his spine. It was quiet. Dead quiet. The normal noises of the tropical island night were silenced, as if by fear.

Panrahk heard the rustling again. He looked all over; it was hard for him to see. He could see a patch of moonlight hitting the forest. For a split second something moved swiftly by it. He could make out what it was. It moved too quickly.

Out of the shadows it sprinted at Panrahk. He held up his staff to protect himself. It struck, breaking his staff in half. Without time to react it grabbed Panrahk's neck with one hand and lifted him off his feet, a display of great strength to do so with only one arm.

"_This thing is no bigger than I am, and yet it can lift me like this?" _Panrahk thought.

Panrahk gagged and choked as he tried with both hands to get it to release him. "What…the hell…are you?" Panrahk managed to choke out. It walked forward into the moonlight so that Panrahk could see him. Panrahk's eyes widened in surprise.

"_How can it be? He's dead! I saw him die! _" Panrahk thought in shock. "Why…are…you…doing this?" Panrahk questioned.

It threw him to the ground. Panrahk coughed and gagged trying to catch his breath. "I…thought...you were dead." He said panting.

It had a look of confusion on its face. "You have memistakenfor someone else."

Panrahk realized at the sound of its voice that this was someone different. "Why are you doing this?" Panrahk repeated.

It just stared at him for a minute, "Because I can." It replied simply. It turned around and started walking away. Panrahk let out a sigh of relief. It stopped.

A feeling of panic returned once again to Panrahk's gut. It faced the palm of its claw upwards and curved its fingers. A ball of energy started to build in its hand. It turned around with a menacing grin on its face, which pierced fear into Panrahk's body.

"No! Please don't!" Panrahk pleaded. It laughed gruely.

A large flash, and then there was silence in the forest once again.


	14. Chapter 14: Toa Fugitives?

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 14: Toa Fugitives?

It is early morning in the Charred forest. It's a forest just outside the walls of Ta-Koro, full of burnt trees and ash. Lying asleep among the dirt and ash are two Toa Metru and a Matoran.

Nuju stirred and woke up to the musical sound of someone humming. The tone was definitely female. "Hmmm?" He said, groaning tiredly. He looked to see that Matau and Ehrye were still asleep. "Who's making that noise?" He whispered to himself.

Nuju got up and put his weapons on his back. Quietly the Toa Metru of Ice followed the humming; curious of whom it was coming from. Nuju noticed steam rising off in the distance.

As the noise got louder he could see where it was coming from. A blue Toa was walking up a path. Nuju crouched behind a bush. "I wonder who that is." He said observing the feminine Toa.

Nuju followed her for a time, which he had trouble keeping track of. Watching her gave him a strange feeling. He was mystified by the very sight of her. He found it so hard to take his eyes off of her that he was not even sure how far he was from Matau and Ehrye.

She stopped at the edge of a hot spring. She started to remove her armor. Nuju's eye's widened in awe.

She stepped into the hot spring and put her head back and relaxed. Nuju's eyes were still wide open. "She's beautiful…"

"Who's beautiful?" a voice asked. Nuju jumped up in surprise. "Matau what are you doing here?" Nuju whispered. "I should be asking you the same question." Matau said suspiciously. "Now who's so beau-?" Matau stopped because he noticed Gali in the hot spring.

Matau looked at Nuju, but didn't say anything. "I'm going in." Matau said, half emerging from the bushes. Nuju yanked him back in, and pinned him against a tree. "No you're not." Nuju said with a serious expression.

"Oh yeah? Why not?" Matau asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I think she is one of those fake Toa that guy Atukam warned us about." Nuju argued.

Matau raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. "Fine. Let's go then. But why do I have a feeling that's not the only reason you don't want be to go in?" Matau asked.

As they walked back Matau wouldn't shut up about it. "_Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!_" Nuju thought, getting progressively angrier.

About half way back Nuju couldn't take it any longer. He tapped Matau on the shoulder.

"And that's-…what?" Matau asked feeling rudely interrupted. Nuju gave Matau an irritated look.

"Well?" Matau asked impatiently.

Without warning Nuju punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. Nuju lifted Matau over his shoulders. He let out a sigh of relief, "Much better."

&&&&&&&&

Pohatu ran across Motara Desert, on his way back to Po-Koro. He had been knocked out the evening before, and was eager to get home and think over what had happened. As he got closer to the village he saw a big commotion. They were all crowded around Turaga Onewa. When he got there, every Po-Matoran rushed at him, bombarding him with questions he could not interpret.

Pohatu's head looked back and forth in confusion of what was going on. "Quiet!" He yelled. They all went silent. "Where is Hewkii?" He asked.

"Right here Toa Pohatu!" Hewkii said, stepping forward out of the crowd. Pohatu looked back to the crowd, noticing they were looking at him expectantly.

"Uh…ask Turaga Onewa." Pohatu said, shrugging his shoulders. They all rushed back to

the stone Turaga. Pohatu let out a sigh.

"So, Hewkii how are things going between you and Macku?" Pohatu asked kindly. "Um…ok I guess but…"

"What's all that about anyways?" Pohatu said interrupting him.

"Well I was just about to say…" Hewkii continued.

"It's really weird that they would act like that…" Pohatu said, ignoring him.

"POHATU!" Hewkii yelled at the top of his lungs. "What is it Hewkii?" Pohatu asked, as if he hadn't yelled at all.

"Two Matoran are dead." Hewkii said with a serious expression.

Pohatu's face turned to a look of surprise, then seriousness. "Show me."

Hewkii showed him to a spot about two miles away from Po-Koro. There was a large hole in the ground and a strange path on the ground, starting from the edge of the hole. It stretched out farther than Pohatu could see.

"Down here." Hewkii said, pointing into the hole. Pohatu and Hewkii jumped in. As soon as they landed Pohatu smelt a rank odor.

"What in the name of Mata Nui is that smell?" Pohatu said, waving his hand in front of his mask. Hewkii pointed to a body lying on the cave floor. Well half of it anyway.

Pohatu crouched before it. It was the bottom half of its torso. "Where's the top half?" Pohatu asked, sounding hurt. Hewkii pointed to the wall. It had been smashed into the wall, indented into it. Pohatu observed the body. "Hmm."

"_The place where it has been torn was not a clean cut. Marks on his shoulder, look like claw marks. Whatever did this ripped him in half with its bare hands._" Pohatu thought.

"What is it Pohatu?" Hewkii asked, curiously.

"Who was this?" Pohatu asked with a hard tone. "Horkii." Hewkii replied.

"Where is his mask?" Pohatu replied. Of all the things that were odd about this death, it was the absence of the Kanohi mask. A Rahi does not take masks. So he wanted to be sure it was still in the chamber.

"It's right here Pohatu." Hewkii said, gesturing to the ground.

Pohatu walked over and crouched in front of it. It was a Kakama. It looked…odd. Its colour was all faded. He poked it with one of his weapons. It crumbled and turned to dust. "What in the…?" Pohatu said in awe. "The mask…it's dead…"

"Where's the other body?" Pohatu asked, looking back at Hewkii.

"Follow me" Hewkii yelled, telling Pohatu to come out of the hole. Hewkii pointed at the strange path in the sand. It looked like something had either been dragged, or pushed really hard through it.

Pohatu looked off into the distance. It stretched farther than the horizon. "I'll be right back." He said, before bursting off into the distance. Hewkii just stood there wide eyed. "I wish I could do that."

Pohatu ran for a long time, never taking his eyes off of the path. As he got further, a trail of blood became more and more evident. The very idea of this disturbed him deeper and deeper the more he thought about it. What could have done this to these Matoran, and why?

Pohatu finally stopped at the end of the trail and saw the Matoran's body. It was in a horrible state from being pushed that far. Then it hit him. He had just run half of the Motara Desert. Something plowed this poor Matoran across half of the desert.

Pohatu noticed a similarity once again. The mask was not on the wearer, but about five feet away, and it was in the same state as the previous one. "Something messed up is going on here. Half across an entire desert… That suggests two things; whatever did this is savage, and whatever did this…enjoyed doing it."

&&&&&&&&

"So what do we do now?" Onewa asked, leaning against the cave wall. Whenua sat cross-legged across from him, Vakama sat in front of the fire, along with the four Matoran; Tehutti, Ehrye, Vhisola and Orkham. Nuju was leaning against the wall at the end of the cave. The cave was not too long so he could hear what they were saying.

"You could let me down from here!" Matau yelled from outside. He was tied up by vines and hung upside-down in a tree.

"I told you I would make things unpleasant for you Matau!" Whenua yelled back to him laughing. "Sorry but I'm not usually one to break a promise!"

"Cut him down Whenua." Vakama said impatiently. "He'll just attract attention up there."

"With pleasure." Whenua said, getting up.

"So uh, what do we do now?" Onewa repeated patiently. A shout and a loud thump was heard outside. Whenua and Matau entered the cave. Matau did not look happy at all. Whenua had an amused smile on his face.

"What we should be doing is looking for Nokama." Whenua said impatiently, sitting back down.

"We shouldn't risk going out in the open right now Whenua. It's very likely that she will find us considering her gift, but if not then we will search tomorrow." Vakama concluded.

"Alright, if that's how it's going to be I'll go myself then." Whenua said getting up.

"But we don't know anything about this island yet. We shouldn't risk it until we have a plan." Vakama argued.

Whenua ignored Vakama's statement and continued to exit the cave. Tehutti got up and ran towards Whenua. "Let me come too!" Tehutti said excitedly.

"No Tehutti. I will go by myself this time. You stay here and continue your training." Whenua looked at the other Toa Metru. "Give me twenty-four hours." Whenua said before leaving the cave.

Vakama was about to go after him. "Just let him go Vakama." Nuju said. "He will be back."

"Why do you think he wants to look for Nokama so bad though?" Vakama wondered.

"Well that's obvious." Matau said, folding his arms and closing his eyes intellectually. The other Toa Metru and Matoran looked at him. "Whenua probably does want to find Nokama. However, I think the real reason is simple. He wants to fight again."

&&&&&&&&

Arkam sat on the steps of the Meeting Temple. The Temple which had held the first meeting of the Toa and the Turaga and where they had first met Nuhvok. Strangely, the Toa thought it would be best that Arkam did not hear what they were discussing.

Arkam leaned back and stared at the clouds. He let out a long sigh of boredom. "I don't understand why they won't just let me in. They let me in when we found those ships. What's so bad now?" He thought out-loud to himself.

Suddenly Arkam's attention was directed to the horizon, where five unknown beings were marching up the hill towards him.

&&&&&&&&

"What ever killed those Matoran must have been big." Lewa declared.

"It was probably Bohrok! We are still around you know!" Nuhvok argued. "A Bohrok is fully capable of committing that. We should exterminate them from the source!"

"What about those 'Toa' that you and Pohatu saw Onua?" Tahu questioned.

"Well their intentions don't seem pure so it's very possible. But they didn't exactly look like any Toa to me either." Onua remembered that Toa. He would never forget that face. He was the one who killed Vorahk. Whose death was rightfully his. Onua was gonna make him pay for stealing that from him. Pay with his life.

"No it couldn't be them. Whatever killed those two had claws…big claws. And it is very odd what it did to their masks remember?" Pohatu reminded.

"This is very perplexing." Gali said, holding her head in frustration.

The doors to the temple were kicked open by five figures.

The Toa Nuva and Nuhvok all pulled out their weapons, and got ready to fight.

"Who the hell are you!" Kopaka yelled at the intrusion.

The five of them were strange creatures. They each had long heads with huge pincers. Each of them carried a large weapon in each of their hands, except for one. The black one only carried one in his left hand; his other arm held no weapon. It was just a large silver claw. They were all clad in silver armor as well.

"Lower your weapons Toa. We have no quarrel with you." The red one stated.

The Toa Nuva complied, but did drop their guard. It was not every day a random group of five strange beings burst through the door.

"You didn't answer my question. What are you?" Kopaka asked impatiently.

"We are the five of the six elite Vahki chiefs of the Vahki law-enforcement squads of Metru Nui. We have come here to warn you all of six fugitive Toa and four Matoran accomplices that are currently at large on you island. The absence of one of our team is because we have already apprehended the fugitive of water. In the name of the great Turaga Dume, we implore that if you encounter them at all, that you do not interfere. No questions asked." The black one explained.

"What the heck is a Vahki?" Lewa said, scratching his head in confusion.

The black stepped forward. "I am Rorzakh, leader of the Onu-Metru law enforcement squad." He stepped back.

The brown then stepped forward. "I am Zadakh, leader of the Po-Metru law enforcement squad." He stepped back.

The green stepped next. "I am Vorzakh, leader of the Le-Metru law enforcement squad." He stepped back.

The white stepped then stepped up. "I am Keerakh, leader of the Ko-Metru law enforcement squad." He stepped back.

Finally the red one stepped forward. "And I am Nuurakh, leader of the Ta-Metru law enforcement squad.

"We suggest that you don't get in out way. We want to make it perfectly clear; if you do not comply with our instructions you will be considered a threat to the operation. They are ours and ours alone to deal with. Non-compliance once again, will not be tolerated."

"You can't just—." Tahu started, when a shout was heard outside.

"Help me!" Arkam's voice was heard.

All twelve of them burst out the doors of the temple. A black creature had grabbed Arkam and was sprinting down the hill.

The Toa Nuva and Nuhvok burst off after it.

The Vahki all looked at each other. "Is it any of our concern?" Vorzakh asked.

"No it isn't. At least not yet it isn't. We will have to look further into the matter to confirm. We have prior engagements in the meantime." Rorzakh explained.

&&&&&&&&

Lewa was alone, running through the jungle. They had all split up to try and find Arkam. In the distance Lewa heard his cries for help.

"Don't worry Arkam! I'm coming to get ya!" Lewa yelled, running toward the sound.

Lewa ran through the jungle frantically. It didn't sound like he was moving any farther away. It was as if Arkam was being held in one spot.

Lewa made it to where the creature stood.

Its right hand was outstretched, holding a terrified and mask less Arkam. In its left hand was Arkam's Huna, mask of concealment. It looked like the mask's energy was flowing out of it and into the creature's hand.

Lewa looked at the creature in awe. "Impossible…I thought you were dead!" Lewa yelled at it.

Arkam was quivering with fear. The expression on his face made Lewa want to cry. There was no way he was gonna let him die. Not like this.

The creature's face turned to a nasty expression. "Why does everybody keep confusing me with someone else!"

"Let Arkam go now!" Lewa demanded. Lewa's words were brave, but the feeling in his gut was that of terror. He could sense great evil intentions in this creature, as well as great power.

The energy finished transferring. The creature simply let the mask drop. It burst into dust when it hit the ground.

"Fine." It said without protest. But he did not let go. Instead energy started to form in his hand behind Arkam.

Arkam was now reduced to tears, feeling the heat of the energy on his back. He started to struggle but to no avail. "Lewa help me!" He yelled desperately.

Lewa dashed at the creature. "No!" he yelled. In a blur the creature was gone. "What the..." Lewa said, looking around.

Lewa turned around. It had moved behind him.

"Too late!" The creature started to laugh maniacally. It released the energy from its hand. It ripped through Arkam's chest and sent him crashing into a tree.

"Arkam no!" Lewa yelled, running towards his friend. He crouched in front of him. It was obvious that he was dead. Lewa was now breathing hard with rage. He looked up at the creature. It was still laughing. It didn't care. It didn't care at all.

"You…you bastard!" Lewa yelled, dashing at the creature. It darted out of the way at an incredible speed. Due to his rage, Lewa clumsily tripped when striking at nothing. He was on his knees. He looked back at the creature.

It did a taunting wave goodbye before turning completely invisible and fleeing.

The other Toa Nuva and Nuhvok arrived at the scene. Lewa was sobbing in frustration, smashing his fists on the ground.

The others could plainly see that Arkam's disfigured body was dead.

Gali put a sympathetic hand on Lewa's shoulder and crouched to his level. "Lewa…" She started. "What did this?"


	15. Chapter 15: Vorak the Shadow Rahkshi

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 15: Vorak the Shadow Rahkshi

Whenua hiked alone in the jungle of the Le-Wahi region, lost deep in his thoughts. He was thinking of back home in the Onu-Metru Archives. They were nothing like this lush untouched jungle. He liked the sound of the jungle's birds singing and the bugs chirping. It was very wild yet tranquil at the same time.

Whenua remembered the Archives. It was a place where a Matoran could learn about the extensive history of their Great city; Metru Nui. Whenua had lived and worked there his entire life, before becoming a Toa Metru. However, despite his extensive knowledge of history due to living and working there, he couldn't care less.

In fact, the one thing he actually liked about the job, despite disapproval from local Vahki, was fighting Rahi that had broken loose. Most of his life Whenua had dedicated himself to becoming a stronger Matoran, and nothing had really changed.

Whenua hated constantly being viewed as a stereotypical Onu-Matoran. Someone who was often called a 'librarian', especially by Po-Matoran. His views on living life based on the past he saw as rather foolish. Sure, it's good to save it, but why dwell on it? Day in and day out, doing nothing but stocking Rahi in tubes and putting tools and artifacts on display. Not the type of life he wanted to lead. Which is why he was so thrilled to find a Toa stone lying on the ground in the Archives that fateful day.

Whenua laughed to himself. He was thinking about how much he didn't like home, and yet here he is dwelling on the past. Really to focus on one aspect of life such as the future like a Ko-Matoran, or the past like Onu-Matoran, didn't really matter anymore to him. He was a Toa now, and he now believed that a Toa must worry about the present most importantly, plan for the future, and learn from the past. Learning from the past, unfortunately, was not one of his strong points as of yet.

Whenua thought of Tehutti. Tehutti was the first friend he had ever had. The other Onu-Matoran were mostly just stuffy historians so he couldn't really relate. Tehutti was younger than Whenua and always seemed to look up to him, which confused Whenua. As a Matoran he wasn't much to look up to.

Whenua suddenly noticed something odd. All the noises of the forest had ceased. Whenua stopped, and tried to listen for any trace of what caused the silence. He listened carefully. Whenua then heard the noise of someone's feet landing softly on the ground behind him, as if it descended from the air.

Whenua turned around. He was confused at first, because it appeared that what stood before him was the Rahkshi of Earth he had killed the day before. However it soon became evident that this was not the same one. This one looked almost exactly the same, except he had large clawed arms, and no staff.

Whenua slowly pulled out his earth-shock drills. "Who the hell are you?" He said, staring him down.

"I am Vorak, the bringer of torment and pain to every living thing on this island." He said boastfully. "And I am excited to finally test my abilities on a Toa such as you. After all, I have fully completed my collection of powers."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Whenua said with confusion.

"Permit me to show you my awesome power. But beware, you shall not survive this." Vorak continued to taunt.

"We'll just see!" Whenua said, running at Vorak. Vorak ran as well and clasped his claw around Whenua's neck. Whenua was now off his feet, being pushed back by Vorak's shear power. Vorak started smashing Whenua through the trunks of trees as he sprinted at an incredible speed. He then leapt into the air, rising high above the canopy. Vorak threw Whenua, sending him smashing to the forest floor.

There was a crater where Whenua landed. Whenua slowly got to his feet. "Holy crap…this guy's not kidding." He said groggily. Vorak landed.

"Well I'm surprised you survived. I guess I'll have to put in a little more effort!" Vorak kicked Whenua, hurling him towards a tree. Whenua maneuvered and managed to brace himself for the impact, stopping himself with his feet. He kicked off, launching himself back at Vorak.

Vorak did not move a muscle. He just stared at Whenua as he was flying through the air to make his counter attack. Whenua got ready to swing one of his drills at Vorak. Vorak held up a claw and Whenua stopped in mid air.

"What the hell!" Whenua yelled, struggling to move. Vorak began to laugh mockingly. "Telekinesis is a wonderful power isn't it?" "You bastard!" Whenua yelled angrily.

"_So that's what he meant by collection of powers…_"

"What should I do with you Whenua? What should I do? Should and thrash you around a little? Or just rip you limb from limb right now?" Vorak said. He was enjoying every second of this. And yet there wasn't even a hint of insanity in his eyes. His actions were purely choice.

Whenua's limbs started to stretch out as Vorak began to pull with his mental attack. "GGGAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Whenua yelled in agony as he felt himself being ripped apart. Vorak started to move his claw around violently, smashing Whenua all over the place. He spun him around in the air and smashed him through a few trees, then sent him flying high into the air.

Whenua fell, but Vorak stopped him from landing an inch away from the ground. Whenua sighed heavily. He was then sent back into a large boulder, breaking through it.

Vorak approached the dust ridden area where Whenua smashed through. "Are you dead yet Toa?" He taunted. Whenua burst out of the rubble and tackled Vorak. He continually smashed Vorak with his drills as they went rolling down a hill.

Vorak began punching Whenua rapidly. Whenua grabbed his shoulders, stopping his arms for a brief second and head-butted Vorak with the spikes on the forehead of his mask. Blood spurt out of Vorak's face on impact.

They reached the bottom of the hill. They both rolled in opposite directions and got back to their feet. Whenua was panting heavily. He had never been in a fight so intense before.

They ran at each other again and Whenua managed to knee Vorak in the gut. Vorak however, jumped past him, did a roll and shot back at Whenua, giving him a punch to the stomach.

Whenua gasped for air as the impact knocked the wind out of him. He fell to his knees in pain holding his gut, and fell forward resting his head. Feeling a strange sensation inside of him he then coughed up blood.

Without warning, Whenua was kicked in the ribs, sending him into the air. Vorak upper-cut him, then spun around and gave him a back handed punch to the chest. Whenua was knocked into a boulder where he was indented into it.

Whenua fell forward out of the indent and staggered on his feet. His vision was all hazy and he felt dizzy. A fog started to manifest. Suddenly he could see the other five Toa Metru emerge from the fog. They were all facing him, and they looked angry.

"You're pathetic…" Nokama said, her voice sounding echoed. "I told you not to go by yourself you idiot…" Vakama said. "HAHA! Look at how weak you are Whenua!" Matau said. "Foolish librarian…" Nuju said shaking his head. "Go back to the Archives where you belong…" Onewa said.

"No! You're wrong!" Whenua yelled back at them. Tehutti suddenly appeared. He looked at Whenua with an expression of disgust then struck him in the face, knocking him to the floor. "Look! You're so weak even I can hurt you!" Tehutti said laughing.

They all started walking away. Whenua got up and went after them. "What's wrong with you?" He said, grabbing Nokama's shoulder. She turned around and slashed his chest with one of her weapons. "Keep your hands off of me…"

Whenua sat on the ground shocked, not sure what to do. "_Wait a minute…" _He thought in realization. "_This isn't real. None of this is real…_"

The illusion faded and once again Vorak was standing before him. "So, you're strong enough to fight back against my illusions. I'm impressed." Vorak said with a grin.

Whenua was breathing hard, but not from fatigue. He was furious. "I'm tired of your tricks Vorak! I have worked hard all my life to strive to be something more than just an Archivist. So there is no way I'm going to let you win this!" Whenua yelled angrily.

Whenua rushed at Vorak and jumped, giving him a hard kick the face. Vorak skidded backwards. Whenua's drills started to spin. He thrust one into Vorak's gut, but he blocked it with one of his claws before it could penetrate the skin. Whenua swung the other one into Vorak's face, sending him off his feet, skidding through the dirt.

Whenua swung a drill down at Vorak but he quickly dodged it, making Whenua's drill dig into the ground. Vorak grabbed the back of Whenua's head and started punching him in the face with his other claw. Each punch caused Whenua's face behind the mask to bleed.

Still grasping the back of his head, Vorak dragged Whenua over to a large boulder. Vorak proceeded to continually smash Whenua's face into the rock. Vorak let go of Whenua, who fell forward and slouched limply against the boulder. "Looks like your ambitions were all for nothing huh? You think you've got more strength than you actually do." Vorak taunted. Whenua groaned in pain.

He grabbed Whenua's leg and dragged him away from the boulder. He then started to smash Whenua back and forth on the ground. In mid swing above him, Vorak let go and jumped up and uppercut Whenua in the chin, then kicked him to the ground again.

Vorak grabbed Whenua's shoulders and lifted him to his feet. Whenua looked as though he was not all there. He couldn't keep his balance and couldn't even hold his own head up.

"Wake up Toa. You're not dead yet." Vorak grabbed Whenua's left arm with both hands, letting his body fall limp. "Here, let me remind you!" Vorak bent Whenua's arm, breaking it. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Whenua screamed in agony, falling to the ground. "You gotta love pain eh? Let's ya know your alive!" Vorak yelled, laughing.

"Err, you monster. You won't get away with this!" Whenua yelled at Vorak. He wished it could be like that, but it was starting to look like the end for him. Vorak kicked him in the chest. Whenua was now lying on his back. Whenua was wincing from the pain. He opened his eyes and saw the sky. It was so beautiful and blue…

Vorak lifted Whenua off of his feet by the neck with his left hand and pinned him against a large tree. Whenua grasped Vorak's claw with his right hand, trying to release his grip, "_I've got to try…_" but he had almost no strength left. Whenua let go from the strain.

"_Never thought it would end like this…_" Whenua thought to himself._ "So many things I haven't achieved. Sorry guys…I guess I'm not coming back after all. I want to fight back but…I can't move. I'm sorry Nokama; I just hope you made it back alright._"

Vorak had been building up massive amounts of energy in his right claw. A powerful ball of energy was now built up in his hand. "Any last words Toa? You could always beg for mercy and I might just let you go." Vorak said with a grin. Whenua spit in Vorak's face.

"Fine, have it your way!" Vorak placed his hand over Whenua's stomach. He released all of the energy upon Whenua. The beam lanced through his body, through the tree, and continued into the sky.

Vorak released his grip from Whenua's neck. He slid down the side of the tree and collapsed at the based. Vorak began to laugh triumphantly. He then turned invisible and flew off.

"_I feel…cold._"

Author's Notes: The Earth Rahkshi's name was 'Vorahk' pronounced: VOH-RAK, while Vorak's name is pronounced: VOR-AK. Similar names, but not the same. If you want to see an image of Vorak or other characters I have made, then click the homepage link in my profile which will lead to my Brickshelf account.


	16. Chapter 16: Are You Evil or Not?

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 16: Are You Evil or Not? 

It was a dark and stormy night. Gali paced back and forth inside her hut in Ga-Koro. Her home was fairly large and lit by a single light stone. It was fairly empty, it a few pieces of furniture and some supplies here and there for various needs. Her weapons lay rested against the wall.

She was severely stressed at the current dilemma the island was facing. The Bohrok and the remaining Rahkshi were still at large. There were strange and apparently evil Toa running amok all over the island, with some strange, obsessive, law-enforcing creatures chasing them. To top it all off, there is some new Rahkshi on the loose, killing everything, that can apparently steal the powers of masks.

Gali sat down on a stool and grasped her head in frustration. There was a flash of lightning which made her weapons glisten. "This doesn't make sense. What are we supposed to do against all of them?" She said lowly.

Gali looked up to the noise of someone banging on the door of her hut. "I wonder who could be coming to see me so late in such horrid weather." She said to herself. The person banged on the door harder this time. "I'm coming!" Gali yelled as she approached the door.

She opened the door and to her surprise, Takanuva stood on the other side. "Takanuva!" She said. "Where have you been?"

"You know…around." He answered, chuckling uncomfortably. "I hope I haven't come at a bad time."

"No, not at all." Gali said with a friendly smile. "Come in out of the rain. So where have you been-" As she let him in an expression of shock appeared on her face. She had not seen it in the dark of the storm but now she could see that he had someone large slung over his shoulder. Whoever it was, he was bleeding all over Takanuva.

"Who the heck is that!" Gali yelled in astonishment. Could that be one of the evil Toa, she thought to herself.

"Put down something for me to rest him on please." Takanuva requested.

"Is he even alive?" Gali asked.

"Yes, now please put something down for him to rest on." Takanuva repeated.

Gali obliged by laying down some soft leaves and a pillow. Takanuva rested the black Toa down. Gali looked at the wound on his body. It looked like something had blasted right through him. His left arm was also broken and everywhere else looked really beat up.

Takanuva sat on the floor and let out and exhausted sigh. "Man, that guy was pretty heavy." He said laughing. "Have you got any Bulla berries?"

"Oh, yeah." Gali responded, snapping from her distraction of inspecting the injuries.

She got up and grabbed a small bag off of a table. She crouched next to him and took a berry out and squeezed the juices into the Toa's mouth.

"I should probably bandage him up to." Gali got up and gathered some dressing and wrapped up his belly and arm as best she could. She then inspected his head and noticed a fair amount of blood. She removed his mask and wrapped up part of his head as well.

There was a flash of lighting, followed by the loud rumble of thunder. Takanuva and Gali sat on either side of the injured Toa. Neither of them said anything for a while until Gali broke the ice. "So where did you find him anyway?"

"I found him up against a tree in Le-Wahi. There was a hole through the tree he was up against as well. Something got him, and got him bad." Takanuva explained.

"_Maybe it was that new Rahkshi…_" Gali thought to herself. "_If it were one of those Vahki they would have taken him, and he's already killed one of the regular Rahkshi so it couldn't be them. There's nothing else I can think of._"

"Why did you come all this way just to bring him to me anyways?" Gali wondered. All the other villages would have been more than capable of tending to him. Why her?

"Well that's simple Gali, I'm surprised you wouldn't know." Takanuva started. "If I had given him to any other Toa they would probably just kill him." He said with a smirk.

Gali gave an uncomfortable laugh. Takanuva stood and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Gali asked. He was thinking of leaving her alone with him was he?

"I'm going to get the other Toa Nuva of course. See you tomorrow." He said before leaving her hut. "But you can't just…oh well." She sighed.

The bandaged Toa started to stir. Her attention immediately turned to him. His eyes were wincing and he moved his head back and forth uncomfortably. "Vorak…" He murmured.

Gali spoke quietly to herself. "So the new Rahkshi must be called Vorak." She sat at his side and waited for a while to see if he were to say anything else. The Toa said nothing else, so Gali decided to go to sleep.

&&&&&&&&

"I don't like this." Onewa said with concern. He was standing with Nuju, at the mouth of the cave, staring out at the storm. "Whenua should have been back by now, and there's no sign of Nokama either, and she can usually find us pretty easily with her 'gift'."

Tehutti, Vhisola and Ehrye approached them. "We can't see the stars tonight Nuju." Ehrye said, looking at the sky. "No my friend, we can't."

Nuju was not concerning himself with the stars however. He had not stop thinking about the blue Toa. Never in his life had his mind been more consumed with the thoughts of one thing before. He had a longing to be with her, without even knowing her. He trusted this feeling as much as he did the premonitions that he studied in the night sky. Nuju hoped that she was no enemy to them.

Vakama sat in front of their fire, while Orkham and Matau played a strange game Matau had made up with some pebbles.

Onewa looked down at Tehutti and Vhisola, who were holding hands. "Whenua will come back won't he Onewa?" Tehutti asked, staring out at the rain. "And Nokama?" Vhisola asked.

"Don't worry, we will see them again. I am sure of it." Onewa assured.

"Matau," Vakama said. "Come here." Matau came over. "What is it boss?" He said sarcastically.

"When morning comes I want you to go out and find Whenua. You're the only one who can fly so you can cover more ground." Vakama instructed. "What about Nokama?" Matau asked.

"No. I have a feeling that she may have been captured. Otherwise she would have found us no problem."

&&&&&&&&

Gali awoke from a restful sleep in her soft bed. It was right next to the window which had a view of the ocean. It was clear and sunny now and she breathed in deeply the fresh salty air. She could here the sound of the seabirds cawing.

Gali got out of her bed and saw the Toa still lying asleep on the floor. "How did he survive that?" She whispered to herself. She walked over to the table and grabbed another Bulla berry. Gali knelt next to the Toa.

She held her hand over his mouth, about to squeeze more of the juice into his mouth when his arm snapped up and snatched Gali's hand.

His vision was hazy and he was not sure who was kneeling over him or what they were trying to feed him. "Nokama?" He thought for a second as his vision started to clear, but when his sight returned he could see it was someone else.

Gali pulled her hand away and shot up to her feet. Whenua rested his arm again and sighed. She knelt down and tried to give him the berry again. "What is that?" Whenua asked suspiciously, staring at the berry. "This is a Bulla berry. It will help you to recover." Gali said sympathetically. She gestured to his wounds.

Whenua ripped off the bandages. His injuries were almost completely healed. He ripped the rest off. "Give me my mask please." Gali handed it to him.

Whenua started to get up, but fell forward. Gali caught him in time before he hit the floor. "I thought you said it helped me to recover?" He said with confusion.

"Sorry." Gali said with a small smile. "It only heals the body, it does not restore strength. You must get that back with rest."

Whenua sighed in disappointment. "Well I guess I have no choice." He said as Gali helped him to lie back down. She gave him the berry and he ate it quickly.

"I noticed that when you woke up you said the name 'Nokama'…" Gali started. "What of it?" Whenua asked, closing his eyes. "Well I was just wondering how you know the Turaga of our village." Gali continued. Whenua opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"The Turaga of our village Ga-Koro is named Nokama." Gali explained. "Well that's very odd…can I meet her?" Whenua asked with curiosity. "I'm afraid not. She is out of the village, with the other five Turaga." Gali explained.

"What are their names?" Whenua asked. As Gali said all the names, a look of shock and confusion appeared on his face. "How can that be?" Whenua said in awe. "What the hell are the odds that we would all have the same names?"

"I'm not sure. I will have to ask her when she gets back." Gali responded.

"By the way, my name is Gali, Toa Nuva of Water." She asked politely. "My name is Whenua, Toa Metru of Earth." He responded.

There was silence for a time while Whenua rested, when he suddenly asked her a question, "Gali, why are you helping me? We are enemies after all aren't we?" Whenua questioned.

Gali froze for second, not sure how to respond. Why had she been looking after him? She had never really thought about it when Takanuva brought him in the night before. She just naturally felt the need to help him. Something about him…just didn't seem all that bad.

Whenua noticed that the question made her feel awkward. "Forget about it. Thanks anyways." Whenua rolled over, no longer facing her.

"My brothers and I have spoken to the Vahki." Gali said. She felt the need to bring this up, to see his response. Whenua so far did not move. "They told us that the Nokama that you know has been taken into custody."

Whenua still didn't move. He closed his eyes and he sighed deeply. "Damn…"

"And we have agreed to turn any of you in if we capture you." Gali said nervously.

Whenua quickly faced her. "Why did you do that?" Whenua said angrily.

Gali quickly retorted, "But when my brothers get here we will discuss what we want to do, and I will try my best to help you."

Whenua calmed down. "What kind of Toa are you?" He asked her.

"What do you mean?" Gali asked. She wondered why he would ask such a weird question.

Whenua stared at the ceiling, resting his hands on his chest. "Before coming here, we were told that there were evil Toa on this island, and that they would try to kill us. We accepted that warning and came here anyways. When I first encountered your earth brother it was painfully clear to me that the person named Atukam was right about you. And yet, in my most vulnerable state, I am being looked after by their sister of water." Whenua's gaze drifted towards Gali. "So, are you an evil Toa or not?"

Gali felt enlightened from this new perspective. But Whenua had to understand hers. "When my brother first fought you Whenua, you attacked him first. He had no idea who you were or where you came from. Then suddenly a group of law-enforcers tell us that you are all fugitives on the run from their law, and that you are all dangerous criminals. And here I am looking after an enemy, who is strangely respectful and kind. So you should tell me then Whenua, are _you_ an evil Toa, or not?"

&&&&&&&&

Jala sat trembling in fear at the site he saw before him. His original intention was for him and his guard to take on the new Rahkshi themselves, after hearing about the death of Arkam. This was an error more fatal than he could have ever imagined.

Jala's wound was painful; large slashes on his shoulder. The pain crippled his arm, making him useless to help his comrades. This Rahkshi was ruthless, slaughtering them one after another. It ripped the last one in half and smashed the halves to the ground.

Jala was frozen. He had failed to help his guard, to protect his village and now he was going to die. The Rahkshi crouched in front of him. Jala closed his eyes, awaiting the blow that would end his life. But it didn't come. He opened his eyes.

The Rahkshi was just staring at him. "What drove you to come after me little Matoran? Was it bravery? Valor? Pride? Or just plain stupidity?" Vorak asked, not taking his eyes off of Jala. Jala sat there trembling. "Answer the question!"

Jala snapped to attention. He couldn't just sit here and tremble like a coward! He must go down with honor and bravery, just like Tahu would!

"Hope…" Jala answered. "We searched for you because we believed that we could bring hope to our village! That we could keep them safe again!"

"And look what your 'hope' has brought you." Vorak said, gesturing to his dead comrades. He picked up Jala by the neck. "Matoran shouldn't play Toa. They could get hurt." He said with a devilish grin.

Vorak's gaze traveled to Jala's mask. "That's an interesting mask you've got there little fire-spitter." He said, observing the gold coloured Hau. "I think I'll take it."

Vorak grasped Jala's mask and took it off. "Hey! That's mine!" Jala yelled, struggling to break free. Vorak threw Jala against a rock face. "Give…that…back…" Jala murmured.

"GGGGGAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Vorak yelled in pain. He fell to his knees, energy from the mask surging into his body, causing every nerve to writhe in pain. He threw the mask away. He breathed hard from the strain. "What the hell was that?" Vorak said panting. "_I don't understand. I've absorbed a Hau before. Why not this one?_"

Vorak got to his feet and brushed himself off. "That's a special mask you've got there Matoran." He said, turning away. "Destiny protects it." Vorak left, leaving Jala alive to wallow in shame.

&&&&&&&&

Whenua still lay on the mat that Gali set for him. She was outside now, talking with her brothers. He trusted in Gali, but knew that her influence could only go so far. It was only a matter of time before they would turn him in. Whenua had to get out of there somehow. The only problem was, he could barely move.

Whenua looked at the window. "I can escape through there." He got up slowly and managed to stay on his feet. He trudged slowly over to where his drills lay. Whenua picked them up and slowly made his way towards the window.

"Hey Whenua!" Matau yelled, poking his head in the window. Whenua fell to the floor in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?" Whenua asked, angry from the shock.

"Here to save you of course. Did you find Nokama?" Whenua stared at Matau with an aggravated expression. "Does it look like I did Matau?"

"Uh, no." Matau scratched the back of his head and laughed. Whenua climbed out of the window and onto a small ledge between the wall of hut and the surface of the water. Matau grabbed Whenua's shoulders. "Let's get out of here."

Onua and Kopaka burst into the hut and saw them trying to escape. "Fly Matau! Fly!" Whenua yelled. Matau took off towards the shore.

"Get back here!" Onua yelled. They ran back out of the hut and started to chase them.

"Go up Matau! Up!" Whenua said urgently. "I'm waiting for a gust of wind." Matau said. "Wind? Make some you dolt!" Whenua yelled, seeing the Toa Nuva gaining on them. "Yeah I know. I was only playing around." Matau rose into the air, out of reach of the Toa Nuva.

They flew past the beach and ascended high above the bright green canopy.

Whenua looked back down at the Toa Nuva. He could see Gali waving at him. Whenua gave a friendly wave back.

Matau whistled. "Wow, looks like you made a new 'friend' eh Whenua?" Matau said with a grin.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Whenua said with a hard tone. "So you don't have an eye out for her?" Matau asked expectantly. "Nope." Whenua replied simply.

"Do you even like anybody?" Matau asked. Whenua responded, "Hmm." "Come on! There isn't at least one Ga-Matoran that you liked back home?" Whenua still said nothing.

"So uh…" Matau said with a huge grin. "What do you think my chances are with her?" He said with great enthusiasm.

Whenua shook his head. "Slim to none."

Author's Notes:  Thus concludes chapter 16. Thank you for reading, please review.


	17. Chapter 17: The Gathering

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 17: The Gathering

Vakama stood with his arms folded, watching Whenua, as Matau carried him by the arms, through the canopy and towards the ground. Vakama felt feelings of relief as well as great frustration. Onewa emerged from inside the cave. "Hey! Whenua's back!" He yelled into the cave.

The four Matoran ran out to greet him, Nuju slowly made his way out as well. Matau landed, putting Whenua on his feet. His strength had almost completely returned.

Tehutti approached Whenua excitedly. "I knew you weren't dead!" Whenua stared down at Tehutti. "Hmm," He smiled, "You don't have to worry about me."

Whenua looked at his brothers. "Nuju, Onewa." He nodded. His gaze drifted to Vakama. Vakama looked as if he had a lot going through his mind as he stared at Whenua.

"Vakama?" Whenua asked, trying to get his attention. "Whenua follow me. I need to talk to you." Vakama walked into the jungle away from the others, expecting him to follow. Whenua raised an eyebrow in confusion, but followed after him.

Whenua walked through some bushes and saw Vakama standing there, his back facing him. "What is it Vakama?" Whenua asked.

Vakama stared at the ground. "Whenua," he started, "I did not choose to be Lhikan's successor, but destiny chose it to be that way," Vakama turned and looked at Whenua. "I respect your strength, and your reluctance to give up in battle. However, it is very hard for me to lead us if you keep doing what you want, all by yourself. You can't just go off and fight whoever you want. We are not in the best of situations right now and I'm trying to direct us on the right course, so I need you to suck up your pride and listen to my orders. Are we clear on this?"

Whenua stared at Vakama sharply. "Clear as water," He responded finally. "Just as soon as you come up with an agreeable course of action." Vakama went tense from the remark. Whenua turned around and walked back to the others.

Vakama glared at Whenua as he walked back through the bushes. "I just hope his emotions won't get the better of him. It may just be the end of all of us."

Vakama walked back to the rest of the Toa Metru and four Matoran. "We should get moving." He instructed. They all started to leave the area.

"Targets sighted, prepare to engage. Remember alive if possible."

&&&&&&&&

Traveling through Le-Wahi, the seven Toa Nuva and Nuhvok search for where Whenua and Matau had gone. Onua and Kopaka were both eager and impatient to find and take care of these strange Toa, despite Gali's pleas otherwise. Tahu felt that they should first try to reason with them; Takanuva and Pohatu agreed.

There was no arguing with Kopaka, but it was strange of Onua to want to kill something so badly. Though it seemed his sights were solely set on Whenua; the one who had killed Vorahk. Vorahk had caused Onua a ton of grief, so Vorahk's burden was passed onto Whenua. Onua wouldn't normally feel this way, but as far as he knew; Whenua was an enemy.

Tahu halted the group; having noticed something move. They all readied their weapons. Nuhvok got himself ready for a fight.

The four Rahkshi; Guurahk, Lerahk, Turahk, and Kurahk landed in front of them. The Toa Nuva all exchanged confused glances. Why would they attack when they're so weak?

"Where is our brother Panrahk!" Turahk yelled.

"I killed him."

Their gaze drifted upwards to somebody sitting on top of a tree branch. Lewa gasped. He recognized it as the Rahkshi who had killed Arkam; Vorak the Shadow Rahkshi. Vorak was looking down at them with lust in his eyes; lust for blood.

"Who the hell are you?" Turahk demanded. "And if you're a Rahkshi why did you kill our brother?" Vorak ignored the other Rahkshi, "And where is his body?" Guurahk added.

Vorak's attention finally turned to the four Rahkshi. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"That's him! That's the one! That's Vorak!" Lewa pointed.

Vorak laughed. "I guess I'm already famous. That didn't take long." He grinned.

"You'll pay for what you've been doing." Tahu said angrily.

"Shhhh," Vorak silenced, "They will be here any moment. Can't you hear it?"

Vorak was right. There was a noise coming from the jungle. Noises that were not natural to Le-Wahi. Suddenly one after another The Toa Metru burst forth from the brush. They completely ignored the Toa Nuva and the Rahkshi as they tried to run through the group. The Vahki landed in front of them.

"There's no where to run now- What the?" said Rorzakh, looking at the gathering of different beings.

"Looks like we're in for an all out brawl." Keerakh said. Each side prepared to attack one another; the Toa Nuva, the Rahkshi, the Toa Metru, the Vahki and Vorak.

Suddenly a loud thump was heard. Then another, and another, in succession. Thunderous footsteps were approaching them. They all stared in the direction it was coming from. A large claw slashed through a gathering of trees with ease.

As the being emerged the Toa Nuva, Vorak and the Rahkshi all recognized him. They recognized his face anyways. It was Panrahk; but not the same that they had previously known. His right arm was monstrous; with two gigantic claws on the hand. The other arm was just as large with a big fist. His legs were much bulkier as well.

"What has happened to you brother!" Turahk said in awe at the sight of the monstrosity. Panrahk let out a bellowing roar and rushed towards the group.

The entire group began their massive fight. The Toa Metru went for the Vahki, telling the four Matoran with them to hide. Vorak took on all eight in the group of Toa Nuva. Panrahk, strangely, went after the Rahkshi.

Panrahk plunged his two enormous claws into Lerahk's gut, and lifted him off the ground. Lerahk writhed in pain as he was held up in the air. Panrahk tossed Lerahk into a tree.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Turahk yelled again, in shock at the death of his brother. Panrahk grabbed Turahk by the head with his left hand, raised him into the air and smashed him into the ground.

Both Guurahk and Kurahk jumped at Panrahk. Panrahk slashed Kurahk with his talons, and grabbed Guurahk, slammed him to the ground and stomped on his gut.

Vorak jumped and kicked Pohatu in the belly and landed, then, turning around quickly, he grabbed Tahu by the face and smashed the back of his head into a tree. Nuhvok leapt onto Vorak's back and dropped his weight, attempting to bring his foe down. Vorak grabbed Nuhvok, digging his claws into his arm; Vorak threw him to the ground with a crash.

Lewa quickly kicked Vorak in the chin, projecting him backwards. Vorak skidded backwards, slowing himself down with one of his claws. He leapt at the Toa Nuva again. Giving Kopaka and Onua each a drop-kick to the face, he charged a blast of shadow energy in his left and shot it in Lewa's face.

Gali swung one of her aqua axes at Vorak's chest. She continued to rein slash upon slash on his chest. Vorak grasped the weapons after a while, and then kicked her in the chest with both feet. She fell to the ground with a smash. Vorak stood above her and landed a barrage of punches down on her torso.

Onua and Kopaka came from behind; ready to cut Vorak in half with their weapons. Vorak paused quickly and projected them back with a Telekinetic blast. He turned around again. Gali blasted an enormous mass of water from her hands, sending Vorak high into the air.

Gali staggered to her feet, weakened from the ruthless barrage. All the Toa Nuva and Nuhvok stood looking up at Vorak through the treetops. He had not come back down. "What the heck is he doing?" said Lewa, sounding frustrated and confused.

Vorak's arms rested in mid air, about a foot away from his waist. His palms faced upwards. A fiery black aura started to form around his hands. "Let's see how you like this, Toa!" Vorak yelled. He started rapidly throwing the shadow blasts, which started to rain down upon the Toa Nuva.

"Run!" Tahu yelled in panic. The Toa Nuva and Nuhvok scattered in all directions. Each blast hit the ground with explosive power, uprooting trees and creating craters in the soft earth.

Vorak landed on the scorched ground he had created. The six Toa Nuva and Nuhvok lay motionless on the ground. His attention turned to the battle going on between the Vahki and the Toa Metru. Both sides fought fiercely; neither was willing to give up. The Panrahk monster had left, leaving only bloody Rahkshi bodies.

A blade suddenly rested on Vorak's neck. It was Takanuva! "What! Impossible!" Vorak yelled in disbelief.

"You should not turn your back on your enemy. Just because we're down, doesn't mean we're out." Takanuva said with a triumphant grin.

Vorak flipped right over Takanuva, "What…" His eyes widened in surprise. Before Takanuva could react, Vorak punched him in the back, knocking him through the air and smashing to the ground. Takanuva started to get up again slowly. Vorak stomped towards him. 

"Burning Attack!" Vorak turned quickly, only to be hit with an enormous ball of fire that Tahu had shot. Vorak lay, smoking on the ground, slowly getting to his feet.

The ground cracked, and split in two halves, creating a large hole. Vorak fell in and it began to close. He strained to hold it open with his arms and legs, but if he tried to fly out it would close too quickly, and he couldn't hold it forever. Vorak's arms and legs started to shake.

Onua and the others approached the opening of the large crack. "Got yourself stuck there eh?" He said laughing. Vorak grinned. Energy was seen building in his hands.

Kopaka shot Vorak with ice, coating him in it. Pohatu rose a pile of boulders above the crack and dropped them, burying Vorak in the avalanche of stone.

Onua walked up to Nuhvok, "You alright?"

Nuhvok turned his head and staggered to his feet. He grinned. "I've been better, but I'll hold together."

"Is he dead?" Gali asked, inspecting the pile of rocks that had buried Vorak.

The ground shook underneath them, and became more distant, as if it were moving. "No, I think he just left Gali," Tahu said with exhaustion, "Good thing too because I don't think I could've gone on much longer."

Tahu looked over to where the Vahki and Toa Metru had been fighting. They were both gone now. Kopaka approached him from behind. "So we achieved nothing from this then?"

"Yeah, and it looks like we've got more on our hands than we thought." Tahu said, remembering the sight of Panrahk's mysterious transformation.

Author's Notes: Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Panrahk's new form at this time, but I will get one and inform you all as soon as I can.


	18. Chapter 18: ReEnforcements

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 18: Re-Enforcements

It had been a month since the battle between all different sides took place. The Toa Nuva and Nuhvok have been searching for Vorak; the one they had all agreed as the largest threat to Matoran life. They had not returned to their villages since the incident, as to not attract Vorak to those areas.

The Panrahk monster had seldom been seen since the incident. Only during its relentless attack on the four remaining Rahkshi, whose bodies have disappeared, had it actually fought anybody. However, the Toa Nuva had often seen it watching from a distance. Watching as if it were waiting for something to happen, or making sure nothing would.

The Toa Metru had struggled over the past month to retain their freedom. Lost, and not sure how to act, they had done nothing but run away. The Vahki grew impatient. Normally it would not be so hard for them to track something down. After all, it was their specialty. But Mata Nui was foreign land, and much larger than Metru Nui.

The Vahki weren't the only ones growing impatient. They had maintained contact with Turaga Dume; and he was not happy at all. He had expected the Toa Metru back within a week or two. As a result, much to the protest of the Vahki, reinforcements were sent and were on their way.

&&&&&&&&

The Toa Metru and four Matoran were resting in the Tiro Canyon of Po-Wahi. They had just narrowly escaped capture from the strangely desperate Vahki. Nuju sat on a rock with his elbow's rested on his knees, and his chin resting on his palms. Matau was keeping watch in the air above the canyon. Onewa sat against the rock wall, while on the opposite side Whenua stood leaning. Vakama paced back and forth, while the four Matoran sat worried in a circle.

"How long can we keep this up?" Onewa asked. Vakama stopped, turning towards the stone Toa.

"As long as we can I guess." Vakama said unconfidently. "So then you just expect us to just keep running?" Nuju said defiantly, "Forever? Just running like scared little Rahi while Nokama rots in a hell unknown to us?" Whenua let out a deep sigh.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come here at all." Vakama said, lowering his head shamefully.

"What was your plan when we came here Vakama?" Nuju said, getting to his feet, "Was it your plan for us to just keep running like this? Did you even consider anything? We were not told this was a haven. We were told there were enemies here! And you decided to lead us here anyways! How do we even know they are enemies! They have not searched for us for a month. We attacked them first. If anything we're their enemy!"

"Enough!" Vakama yelled, "You think I enjoy being the successor to Lhikan? It's a real pain to lead all of you. But I do it out of obligation."

"What 'obligation'?" Nuju said scowled. "I know he was your friend, but Lhikan was killed years before we ever became Toa! We stumbled upon the Toa stones by chance. I don't know if it were by destiny, or just dumb luck. What destiny do we have anyway? Sure we defeated the Morbuzakh, but that was just a stupid plant that was wrecking everything. We don't have a destiny. We're just Matoran who got lucky, and ended up chest high in Rahi droppings. Sometimes…I think it would just be easier to be what everyone says we are; …**evil**…"

Vakama was speechless as a result of what Nuju had said. Onewa let out a disgruntled sigh. Whenua unfolded his arms and stepped forward, looking back and forth at his three comrades.

"So this is it? We've got one Toa captured, two that look as though they are about to keel over and give up, and I don't know what the hell your last comment was about Nuju, but you all need to shut up!" Whenua's expression was angered. "Sure, I've questioned our destiny once or twice. But we got in this situation together and I'll be damned if we're just going to abandon our pride and give up! You want something to do besides run? How about we worry a little more about the poor soul that is locked away somewhere on Metru Nui right now! Nokama has been there for a month now! We have no idea the pain she could be going through right now, and you're complaining about fighting five Vahki! For all we know…" Whenua paused and closed his eyes, "…for all we know she could be dead by now. And I don't know about any of you, but I would face every Vahki in Metru Nui or even get captured just to see her safe again!" Whenua let out an enraged shout and smashed one of his earth-shock drills into the stone wall. He looked back at the others, panting from his outburst. He then stormed off down the canyon.

Matau landed among them. "What's all the fuss about?" He said looking at all of them. "Never mind Matau," Vakama said, with an expression of deep thought, "I think things are alright now."

Whenua sat on a fairly large boulder, around a bend in the canyon so that he was out of sight from the other Toa Metru. He stared at the floor, making frustrated grunting noises to himself. He heard footsteps approaching him. He turned his head downward to see Onewa standing there.

"What's up Onewa?" Whenua asked. Onewa sat on the ground next to the boulder. "Though I haven't known Vakama for quite as long as I have you, I still know him very well. And one thing I learned about him is his reluctance to ever give up on a goal. Whenever he worked on a mask, he would dedicate himself day in and day out until it was total perfection. He hasn't given up on being a Toa; he just is unclear of what he should do. What would you do if you had to lead an entire team without a set goal, on an unknown island, with more enemies than you have ever known?"

Whenua chuckled to himself, "I wouldn't." The remark made Onewa laugh as well. "He's just trying to make things work for the whole team. He doesn't want to risk all of us getting captured, because then we'd all be in trouble. Don't worry though. Vakama has a way of figuring things out. Just give him time. Besides, I think your little speech may have jump started his motivation." Onewa concluded.

Whenua smiled down at his friend. "Thanks. The only thing is if….she was….well…if she was here…I'd have no problem. But when I think about what could be happening to her…" Whenua's eyes filled with a burning rage, like a dark green flame.

"We're all upset about her current situation. But don't worry my friend; she is more than capable of handling herself. She is a very strong Toa. But what's _really_ bothering you about it?" Onewa wondered. Whenua jumped off of the boulder. "Never mind, it's not important." He said as he headed back to the other Toa Metru.

Onewa raised his eyebrow in confusion as he watched Whenua walk away. He then widened his eyes in realization, "Is that why…? It couldn't be could it?" Onewa wondered to himself.

Whenua walked around the bend, back to the other Toa Metru and the four Matoran. Tehutti ran up to him upon noticing his return. "I thought you left again!" He shouted.

Whenua looked down at him. The silence made Tehutti uncomfortable. "Don't worry about it." Whenua said dryly. He then continued walking.

"Where's Onewa?" Vakama asked. Whenua turned around in confusion. "I don't know. I thought he was right behind me."

Suddenly Onewa came sprinting around the bend at full speed. "RUN!" He yelled desperately. A trail of Kanoka disks were hitting the ground and exploding behind him as he ran. The rest of the group bolted in the same direction as Onewa.

&&&&&&&&

Po-Wahi was not just plain, flat desert. Many extraordinary rock formations, shaped and smoothed out from the desert wind, stood as pinnacles in this wasteland. High atop one of these natural marvels lounged the infamous Vorak.

He yawned lazily. "This boredom is killing me. All this freedom is losing its edge. Then again, I've never really known anything else." Vorak sat up and started to ponder. What was his true purpose here? What events had lead up to his creation, and who had created him? Or was he a greater being who manifested itself. These questions rained through his mind like a monsoon.

He always enjoyed killing Matoran and stealing their life energy, but Vorak was not stupid. If he continued to do so at his leisure, then there would soon be no more Matoran to kill. These Toa Nuva did however, provide entertainment very often, but he had not seen a trace of them in a few days.

Vorak's gazed trailed off into the distance. "There's that Panrahk thing again, just…standing there. Maybe if I attacked it…" Vorak sat there staring. The wind blew silently and Vorak didn't make a sound. He was in a trance like state. He shook his head and snapped out of it. "That…was…weird. No, maybe I won't attack it. What would be the point?" He said to himself.

Vorak sat in a meditative position. "Looks like I'm going to have to relieve myself of this boredom on my own." Vorak bowed his head, shut his eyes and focused. "There, I sense those Toa Metru…and Vahki," He guided his sense elsewhere, "What is this? This power…it is massive! Wait…there's two!" As he felt this power, his ability suddenly set off a warning.

Vorak quickly turned around, just in time to grab hold of one of Onua's chainsaws. Onua thrust down his other chainsaw. Vorak caught it with his other hand. "Come on now you can do better than that!" Vorak yelled. He kicked Onua in the face, doing a back flip as he did so. Vorak plummeted from the formation and onto the desert terrain below.

Landing on his feet, he started sprinting across the desert. "_Just a little further._" He thought to himself.

Suddenly out from behind a boulder came Pohatu, who started chasing him. Vorak looked back; the stone Toa was gaining on him quickly. Pohatu was then only feet away from Vorak. He lifted one of his weapons, getting ready to stab it into Vorak when he got close enough.

Unexpectedly, Vorak skidded to a screeching halt, and Pohatu continued running forward, since he could not slow down his momentum. Vorak held out his hand and brought Pohatu back with his telekinesis. "When do you Toa ever learn? I can't be beaten!" Vorak flung Pohatu up into the air, and then fired a bunch of shadow blasts up at him.

Vorak turned around and took a few steps forward. Suddenly a geyser of water burst forth from the ground, sending him high into the air. Lewa flew at lightning speed and gave Vorak a cross-slash in the air with his two air-katana. Vorak grasped his bleeding gut as he plummeted back to the ground below.

He hit the ground with a crash. He got to his knees and removed his hands to examine his wound. The bleeding had already stopped. Vorak looked up, failing to have realized that Kopaka and Tahu were seconds away from blasting him with fire and ice. He leapt into the air at the last second, the blast just missing him. Landing just over them he started sprinting off into the desert again.

Vorak ran until he was inside the mouth of a canyon. He looked back; no sign of the Toa Nuva could be seen as of yet.

Vorak's attention suddenly turned to the top of the canyon. Whenua yelled as he was knocked off the top. He hit the ground and quickly rolled out of the way, as Rorzakh stabbed his weapon in the ground a split second after Whenua had moved. Rorzakh slashed with his left hand, which was a silver coloured claw. It cut through Whenua's chest; drawing blood. "Why won't you die!" Rorzakh yelled in rage.

Rorzakh ran at Whenua. Whenua fell back and caught him with both feet, and lifting him up, Whenua kicked him backwards into the side of the canyon. Whenua then dashed at Rorzakh and tackled him further into the rock face.

Vakama could be seen fighting Nuurakh on top of the canyon, along with Onewa fighting Zadakh. Matau glided off the top, and Vorzakh jumped onto his back, making him fall. Orkham fired a Kanoka disk at him from the edge of the canyon. It knocked Vorzakh off; but they still both plummeted to the ground below.

Nuju then fell off the canyon as well; fighting Keerakh on the way down. Ehrye fired a Kanoka disk from atop, but Keerakh caught it in his mouth and fired it back. Ehrye jumped out of the way as the disk destroyed part of the ledge.

The ground under Vorak's feet crumbled and cracked. The ground caved in and Vorak fell. Immediately he was caught with and uppercut by Nuhvok, and he was sent flying back out of the hole. Nuhvok and the seven Toa Nuva then climbed out after him.

They cornered Vorak against a wall. Vorak was about to attack when something large landed in front of him with a loud thump. It was the mysteriously changed Panrahk once again. He unleashed his wrath upon the Toa Nuva. First he kicked Nuhvok away with ease, and then swung his large claw; knocking Tahu, Pohatu and Kopaka away and knocking them out against the canyon wall.

Panrahk then picked up Gali with his large claw. She kicked him in the arm as hard as she could again and again, but to no avail. He smashed her into the ground with his monstrous arm and then kicked her away.

Onua slashed at Panrahk with his chainsaw, but it seemed to have no affect. Panrahk punched Onua away with his non-clawed left hand. Lewa managed to use this opportunity to stab Panrahk in the shoulder. He roared from the pain as his shoulder started to bleed. He grabbed Lewa and plunged his two large claws into his gut.

Takanuva stood speechless as he stared at the monstrosity that was Panrahk. "_How could he take them out so easily?_" he thought, "_There hasn't been someone **that** strong since…_" Panrahk looked over at Takanuva. He couldn't tell, but Takanuva could've sworn it had a challenging smirk on its face. As if it was saving its fight with him. Panrahk then left as quickly as he had come. Takanuva quickly ran over to Lewa and gave him a Bulla berry so that he would not bleed to death.

Whenua swung his drills, smashing them into Rorzakh's face each time. His thoughts of Nokama in her cell motivated him to fight harder than he ever had before. Rorzakh stabbed forward with his weapon, hitting Whenua in the chest and pinning him to the ground. Rorzakh started to put pressure on his staff, slowly driving it into Whenua's chest. "GGGGAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Whenua screamed in pain.

"Just be thankful that you're not in the prison, Toa. It's a lot worse there." Rorzakh said with a devious smirk. Whenua's eyes filled with resentment and rage. He gritted his teeth together as he flexed his chest and started to resist the staff. He let go of his drills and grabbed the end of it and started to push up against it. Whenua was grunting angrily from the strain. Slowly the staff started to rise and he got to his knees, then to his feet; still holding onto the end. He kicked the end of one of his drill, make it flip into the air and he caught it. Letting go of the staff, he caused Rorzakh to fall forward. Whenua wrapped his left arm around Rorzakh's neck; getting him in a head lock. The drill which was in his other hand started to spin. Whenua started pushing it against the back of Rorzakh's neck. It slowly started to dig in. "I'll show you pain!" Whenua yelled angrily.

Unknown to Whenua was that a being was slowly walking down the canyon wall behind him. A small click noise was made as its feet dug into the rock. It made it to the ground and stood behind Whenua, overshadowing him. It reached down and snatched Whenua off of Rorzakh, the edges of its pincher like hand digging into him. Whenua struggled but could not escape. He gazed in astonishment at the sight of the massive creature grasping him.

Rorzakh fell forward panting. He rubbed the back of his now bleeding neck. "What stopped him…?" Rorzakh wondered. He turned around and his eyes widened angrily. "No! I almost had him! You have no right to interfere!"

"It looks like he had you, Rorzakh." The creature said contemptuously. "And I have every right to interfere; otherwise I would not be here would I? Besides, there are new interests that Dume wants protected. But still, it looks like he had you beat." The creature scoffed. "Never send a Vahki to do a Dark Hunter's job." Nidhiki said.


	19. Chapter 19: Rising Shadow

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 19: Rising Shadow

Whenua tried to free himself with all his might, but to no avail. Pain surged through his body each time he tried as it made the edges of Nidhiki's claw dig into him. Nidhiki tossed Whenua backwards into the canyon and hit him with a Kanoka blast as he hit it.

"Take him away now." Nidhiki said with a grin. Rorzakh looked up at him with a grimace, but obliged. Rorzakh grabbed the now unconscious Whenua and took him away.

Nidhiki observed the battles going on before him. The other four Vahki were fighting the remaining Toa Metru. Krekka suddenly landed next to Nidhiki with a crash. "It's about time you got here. What took you so long?" Nidhiki said. Krekka grunted dumbly. "You faster."

"You see the Toa Metru over there Krekka?" Nidhiki gestured with his claw. Krekka turned his head eagerly, his shoulder launcher flipping up into firing mode. "It's your job to smash each one of them," Nidhiki continued, "Just leave them alive, and don't harm the Vahki unless they get in you way, understand?"

"I understand." Krekka said; his eyes were filling with the excited expectation of the thrill of the slaughter. Krekka started to run towards the Toa Metru, making the ground shake with each stomp.

"There, now he takes care of the targets," Nidhiki's gaze was guided to Vorak, who was in the middle of fighting with Onua, "And I take the prize."

Onua and Vorak were squaring each other off, waiting for who would make the next move and continue the onslaught of attacks. Suddenly a disk hit Onua, blasting him away to the side. Vorak turned his head, to where the blast had come from to see a massive spider-like creature standing there. "Vorak I presume. So we meet at last, I've heard so much about you. I am Nidhiki." He said.

"How the hell do you know my name?" Vorak said in awe and confusion. "My employer has taken quite an interest in you, and requests your presence." Nidhiki explained.

"And if I refuse?" Vorak said cockily. "You're coming with us Vorak. Whether you want to or not." Nidhiki said coldly.

"Is that so? Well then you'll have to beat me, and hasn't anyone told you? I am invincible!" Vorak flew at Nidhiki at top speed and punched him in the face as he flew past him. Nidhiki staggered backwards a few steps with recoil. Vorak flew back and punched him in the back of the head. Nidhiki staggered forward.

Vorak was then coming in for another pass. Nidhiki quickly jumped the side and grabbed Vorak in midair. He then brought his hands together and passed Vorak into his other hand, and slammed him into the ground. Nidhiki lifted up one of his spike like legs and brought it down upon Vorak, with the intent of stabbing it through him.

Vorak caught his leg no more than an inch away from his chest. His arms shook as he tried to hold it back.

"You're a strong one, grr," Nidhiki said, "Already I can tell I shouldn't hold back against you. SO I WON'T!" Nidhiki pushed down harder.

Not being able to hold it anymore, Vorak let go and rolled out of the way, before it could hit him. He then got under Nidhiki and lifted and flipped him onto his back. Nidhiki thrashed because of the awkwardness of his current position. He looked up; Vorak was in the air, ready to fire shadow blasts at him.

Nidhiki pushed himself to his feet, but not in time to dodge the barrage of shadow energy that rained down upon him. Vorak floated back down, and levitated just above the ground. The dust settled and Nidhiki stood there, his arms crossed across his chest and face; shielding his body from the attack. He moved his arms back to his side. "Is that the best you can do, Rahkshi?"

"Not even close!" Vorak yelled. He ran full speed at Nidhiki, jumped and kicked him in the face. Nidhiki grabbed hold of his other leg as he did so and smashed him to the ground, and lifted him back up again and threw him against a rock wall. He then fired a Kanoka disk at him, exploding the rock Vorak had smashed into even more.

Nidhiki ran to where Vorak had smashed into the rock and smashed into Vorak with his shoulder. Suddenly someone jumped on Nidhiki's back, digging the edges of chainsaws into his back. He shouted pained grunts as the chains dug in. Nidhiki reached back and grabbed Onua with both hands and smashed him into the rock, then punched him further into it with the back of his claw.

Nidhiki grabbed Vorak by a leg and dragged him into a more open area. He threw Vorak in front of him, and leaned back onto his hind legs. Using great momentum and force he drove his front legs into Vorak's shins. Blood spurted forth as the spike like legs smashed through the armored skin and bone.

"EEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Vorak screamed, trying to bear the agonizing pain. Never in his life had he felt something so immense and unforgiving.

"Give up, Vorak!" Nidhiki yelled, twisting his legs a little, "Before I have to get _really_ nasty!"

In his moment of intense agony Vorak mustered the strength to unleash a phenomenal telekinetic blast; pushing Nidhiki back about fifty feet. Vorak floated two feet off the ground. His legs were useless for the time being. He flew to where Nidhiki had landed, seeing him starting to get back onto his four insect like legs.

He started punching at Nidhiki with desperate fury. Nidhiki was blocking nearly all of them with his forearms. Spotting an opening in Vorak's attacks, Nidhiki struck him with the back of his right claw. Vorak went tumbling backwards through the air, but did not hit the ground.

"Just give up Vorak. This is mere Matoran play at this point!" Nidhiki sneered. Vorak didn't say anything, but flew at Nidhiki once again; his right hand charged with shadow energy. Nidhiki caught Vorak at his waist but he pointed his hand and fired the energy pointblank at Nidhiki's face. His claw was still grasping Vorak's body however.

The smoke cleared and behind it was Nidhiki's scorched face; which had a looked of pure loathing on it. "That…was a big mistake on your part."

Nidhiki grasped Vorak's midsection with his other claw now. "I could just snip you in half right now you know?" Nidhiki said casually, "But that would be too clean." He started to pull in opposite directions with his claws.

"Grrrrr, you…bastard!" Vorak yelled, "AaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Nidhiki pulled until a snap and a tear was heard, then finally it gave way, and Vorak was ripped right in half. His blood poured over Nidhiki's face. Nidhiki threw the bottom half to the ground, then held Vorak's top half over his right shoulder.

Nidhiki looked at Vorak's face. "Glad you finally agreed to come with us. What was that you were saying about being 'invincible'?" Nidhiki scoffed. Vorak looked up at him with hateful eyes; immobilized by the pain he felt.

Nidhiki observed the rest of the battlefield. The Toa Nuva were all out cold. The Vahki were gone; they had captured the Toa Metru with the help of Krekka.

Krekka was sitting on a giant boulder, waiting for Nidhiki. "Come on Krekka!" Nidhiki yelled. Krekka raised his head in surprise and lumbered over to Nidhiki. "Time to go?" He asked. "Yes it is." Nidhiki replied.

He then looked at Krekka's shoulder. A blue Toa hung over it. "Who the hell is that?" Nidhiki said. Krekka looked at Gali and returned a dumb look to Nidhiki.

Nidhiki shrugged. "Doesn't matter I guess. One extra Toa to torment wouldn't hurt. Now let's get out of here."

&&&&&&&&

"Tehutti… Tehutti…" He stirred, and then opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but it slowly became clear. Standing over him were the other three Matoran; Ehrye, Vhisola, and Orkham.

"What happened?" Tehutti said, sitting up and rubbing his head. "You took a pretty nasty fall," Orkham said, "I didn't know an Archivist's head could be so hard." He continued with a laugh.

Tehutti stood up and looked around. "Where are the Toa Metru?" The other three immediately hung there heads sadly. "They were taken away." Ehrye said finally.

"What!" Tehutti shouted in surprise. "We have to save them!"

"How do you expect us to do that? We are only four Matoran." Vhisola said. Tehutti plunked back down in the realization of that fact. The sad truth was that the odds of four Matoran breaking into a Vahki prison and freeing six Toa heroes was about the same as them turning into Toa that very second.

"Perhaps those other Toa can help us?" Ehrye said. They all exchanged glances. "It's worth a shot I guess." Tehutti said.

&&&&&&&&

Takanuva sat on the ground, around his fallen brothers and Nuhvok. Sadly, he had been unable to locate Gali; which worried him greatly. What concerned him more, however, was Panrahk's strange new transformation. How could something change so dramatically and savagely in such short time? The only way Takanuva could think of, was energized Protodermis. But he felt that there was strangely something more to it than that. Something about Panrahk really disturbed him, in ways he'd never thought possible. With the appearances of so many new beings of great strength and ability such as Vorak, Panrahk, and the other two giant beings that showed up; something much, much more must be going on. At least, that's what he thought.

Nuhvok twitched, and then slowly sat up. He shook his head, trying to get himself out of the daze he was in. He looked in front of him to find Takanuva staring at him.

"How you holding up?" Takanuva asked. Nuhvok had taken a very bad kick to the head. Not to mention how beat the resulted skidding across rocks and sand made him. "I'm alright I guess." Nuhvok replied. He leaned back onto his hands to try and relax.

"Why do you do this, Nuhvok?" Takanuva said. Nuhvok cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean?" He replied.

"I don't mean to be unappreciative of your efforts or your help which we are more than grateful for. But, don't you think you're a little in over you head?" Takanuva explained. Nuhvok started to glare. "Are you suggesting that I'm no longer useful or strong enough?"

"No not at all!" Takanuva said defensively, "I just think that maybe things are perhaps too dangerous for you at this point."

Nuhvok staggered to his feet, an offended look on his face. "You may be the Toa of Light but what makes you think that you can go telling me what I should and shouldn't do, when you haven't known me for nearly as long as the others have! I put my life on the line to help them stop the Bohrok swarms. Do you know how much I sacrificed!" Nuhvok yelled, panting heavily.

Takanuva raised an eyebrow in confusion, over what he had just realized. There was a long pause before Takanuva spoke. "Nuhvok, part of my spirit was in each of the Toa Nuva. It came out at the right time and created my being when it fused with the Mask of Light. Therefore I recall everything that the other Toa experienced up until that point." Nuhvok raised an eyebrow.

"Now that I think about it, why did you agree to help us? Oh, wait. No you didn't. You volunteered. You volunteered and showed Onua everything while you were inside that cell didn't you? Even though you thought he would kill you. That seems almost too convenient. Perhaps you planned that he wouldn't if you led him to believe that you were trustworthy." Takanuva stood up and eyed Nuhvok cautiously. "Then you staged the whole scene with the Tahnok Kal in Po-Wahi. How else would he have gotten across the boundary?"

Nuhvok stared at Takanuva in disbelief. "I am not a traitor… Otherwise I would have given Makuta the Mask of Light!" Takanuva scoffed. "You're up to something aren't you? I don't know what but I'm gonna find out." Takanuva's gaze suddenly focused behind Nuhvok. Standing there was Onua, with a huge frown on his face. Onua and Nuhvok stared at each other; not saying anything. Nuhvok knew what Onua was thinking however.

Nuhvok stormed past him. He couldn't believe what was happening. After all he had been through with them. After all he had helped them with. They still just saw him as something that couldn't be trusted; an enemy that they would use just for info and resource; a tool. Nuhvok hung his head. Even Onua, who he thought was his best friend, was now against him. He then realized that he would have to ultimately prove himself somehow… Then maybe they wouldn't consider him just an unlikely ally, but a brother.

&&&&&&&&

Tehutti and the other three Metruan Matoran hid behind a boulder, watching the Toa Nuva. "I don't know…should we ask them or not?" Vhisola said nervously. Ehrye poked his head over the rock for a look. His eyes were immediately drawn to Kopaka; whose eyes were looking right into his.

"Yikes!" Ehrye yelled, ducking back behind the boulder. "What was that about?" Tehutti asked. "I think he might have seen us." Ehrye replied nervously.

"Let's check it out." Tehutti said cautiously. The four of them poked their heads out from behind that boulder again. The Toa Nuva and the Nuhvok were gone!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" A voice bellowed from behind them. They all jumped in surprise and turned around. All seven of them had somehow gotten behind them.

Ehrye threw himself on his hands and knees. "Oh please great evil Toa! Help us get our friends back!" Tehutti grasped his forehead in embarrassment. "Ehrye…please just stand up and shut up." Ehrye did so, blushing from the humiliation.

The Toa Nuva stood silently waiting for Tehutti to speak. "My name is Tehutti. A soon to be Toa of Metru Nui," The other three Matoran exchanged confused glances, "Though we're not sure if any of you are evil or not, you all look a lot like Toa to us and we believe that the information about you being evil is false. Our friends have been captured and held against there will. If we do not help them they will live the rest of their lives in pain and misery. Please, we are begging you for your help." Tehutti let out a deep breath that he had not realized he was holding.

Lewa let out a hard laugh that he had been trying to hold in the entire time. "Soon to be Toa? AHAHAHAHA! Don't make me laugh." He said.

"Shut up Lewa." Tahu said sharply. He approached Tehutti and knelt in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You've got guts for a Matoran, I'll give you that. But why should we help you?"

"Because the Toa Metru are innocent! They have done nothing wrong! In fact they saved the city! But something happened to our leader." Tahu stood back up again, listening attentively. "Go on." He said.

"Our leader's name is Turaga Dume and about a thousand years ago he was a great Toa. But a few months ago, before we came here, he became strangely menacing, as if an evil _shadow_ had fallen upon him." Tehutti explained.

"Evil shadow?" Takanuva wondered.

"One of his minions, named Atukam, told us to come here and seek refuge. But it didn't work out too well." Tehutti continued.

Tahu and the others huddled. "What do you guys think?" Tahu asked.

"We have to save Gali that's for sure." Nuhvok said.

"Well odds are Gali was taken to the same place," Pohatu said, "So this could work to our advantage anyways. And who knows, maybe the Toa Metru could join with us too."

"Nuhvok's right," Onua said. The statement made Nuhvok smile, "We have to save Gali, but forget the Toa Metru. Why bother saving them?"

"I agree." Lewa added.

"They could be very useful that's why," Tahu said, "What do you think Takanuva?"

"I think we should do exactly what you want to do Tahu. Did you notice that he used 'evil shadow' to describe what happened to their leader? And don't you know what Atukam spells backwards?" Takanuva lectured.

"What does it spell?" Lewa asked. "It spells _Makuta_!" Takanuva said in a loud whisper.

"Are you suggesting that Makuta is still alive?" Tahu asked in shock. "That would explain a lot of what's been happening; Panrahk's new form and Vorak. I think that Makuta somehow survived and is disguising himself as their leader Turaga Dume! So we need to get these Toa Metru to help us!"

"So couldn't he be luring us to this prison with Gali as bait?" Kopaka realized. Tahu sighed. "That seems very likely, but we can't just leave her there. We have to try."

"You have to help the Toa Metru." A voice said behind them. The Toa Nuva all turned their heads. The six Turaga were standing before them. "What are you all doing here?" Kopaka questioned.

"Each of us were named after a prophecy told by the Turaga that preceded us. The prophecy told of another set of heroes from another land, that would one day come to the aid of you all to help defeat an enemy who might rise from the depths of the shadows once again. Without them, you will not be able to defeat him." Turaga Vakama explained, not answering Kopaka's question.

"You should have come to us about these new arrivals before blindly fighting with them. Just because you're experienced Toa Nuva, doesn't mean you don't have anything else to learn." Turaga Nuju added.

"Then I guess we really have no choice, Tehutti." Tahu said. "We'll help you save the Toa Metru."

"Thank you so much Toa Nuva. You won't regret it." Tehutti said with a grateful smile.

Author's Notes: For those of you who have read the reviews that have been posted, I would like to bring to your attention that that is not Greg Farshtey reviewing my story. Sadly, it was some jackass pretending to be him. I learned this via email from the individual after I had posted chapter 18. Apparently he created a fake email to go along with it as well, fully convincing me it was him when I had checked in the past. If he has reviewed any other stories check to see if the email is bionicle underscorewriter at hotmail dot com.If that is his email then it is a fake.


	20. Chapter 20: The Cell

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 20: The Cell

The walls were hard, too hard for even someone like Krekka to break through. There were no windows. It was dark, save for the few lights that were on in the hall that ran by it. There were no bars in its opening, but you could never get out. Unseen forces kept you inside that cell.

She stirred awake from an uncomfortable sleep. She could not tell from looking whether it was night or day. She tried to get up, only to remember that her hands and legs were tied by powerful chains.

Suddenly she looked over to the entrance. Someone was sitting in the light. She could only really see a silhouette and its glowing orange right eye; staring at the floor in front of it. It had spikes going along its back, and its hands were tied behind it.

"Hi," She said reluctantly, "My name is Nokama, what's yours?" It did not say anything at first, only its eye traveled and met with hers.

"They took it…" It said finally. "They took it from me…" Nokama raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What did they take from you?" She asked. "They took it away… I need it and they took it away…my Kraata. Without it I am nothing, because they know what I can do when it's with me…"

"He's not going to answer you, Nokama. But, his name is Vorak." Another voice said from within the same cell. "Whenua, is that you?" She said in surprise. A pair of dark green eyes opened in the dark, although they were not looking at her. "Yeah, it's me."

"What are you doing here? How did you get captured? Are the others alright?" She asked rapidly.

"The Vahki got me, with the help of Nidhiki. I think they caught all of us. They might still be knocked out right now." Whenua explained. "I'll check for them." Nokama said. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her telepathic abilities were limited only to sensing and identifying presence, as well as emotion. It gave her too much strain to read exactly whatsomebody was thinking. Slowly she counted off. Vakama was here, so was Onewa, and Nuju, and Matau, and Vorak, and… "There is an extra person in here with us." She told Whenua.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "The others are here, but there is one other Toa in here with us." Nokama replied.

Whenua made a pondering groan. "Why would they capture one of the Toa Nuva?" He wondered to himself.

"Who are the Toa Nuva?" asked Nokama. "The so called 'evil' Toa that were on Mata Nui." Whenua replied.

There was a long silence for a while. Finally Nokama spoke again. "How long have I been in here?" She asked. "It's been about a month." Whenua answered.

"Has that all it's been?" Nokama said in shock. "It's felt so much longer…" She said painfully. Whenua looked over at her. Though his mask had been removed, she was a little in the light, plus he was good a seeing in the dark in general, so he was able to examine her. She had fresh wounds and cuts all over her body, though they we not bleeding. It looked as though she had received them the night before.

"What have they done to you?" Whenua said in horrified shock. He could see that she was starting to get a little teary eyed. She then closed them. How painful had this month been for her? Whenua thought to himself in disbelief. His fears were true after all. Whenua clenched his fist.

"Why are you so angry, Whenua?" She asked suddenly. The remark caught him off guard. Nokama opened her eyes. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to read your mind." She said nervously. "…don't worry about it. I've just been worried about you. We all have." Whenua replied.

"Ugh, my head," A female voice suddenly said, "Where am I?"

"Gali," Whenua asked, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Whenua is that you?" She asked, relieved to hear a familiar voice. "Where are we?"

"It would appear that you've been captured with us, Gali." Whenua told her. "I don't know why though."

"Who turned out the lights?" Matau suddenly said, rising into a sitting position.

&&&&&&&&

"I'm sorry I got you all into this." Vakama said, with exasperation.

"There's not point beating yourself up over it, Vakama," Nuju said, "That's not gonna make the situation any better."

"Why don't we justescape through the entrance?" Matau said. "Even though my legs are tied I bet I could still get through." Matau then slowly started struggling to get to his feet. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Nokama warned. Matau leapt forward. A field of electricity suddenly appeared as he crossed a line and he was electrocuted until it knocked him back into the wall.

"Ow….that hurt." Matau groaned. "She told you not to." Whenua said. "Are you def or just stupid?"

"Shut up, Whenua!" Matau said angrily. "At least I don't fight random people who are obviously stronger than me just for the hell of it!"

"You wanna come say that to my face?" Whenua said. "Now who's the stupid one?" Matau saiddefiantly, "WE'RE CHAINED UP! HOW CAN I SAY IT TO YOUR FACE! OHHH! NOW WHO'S THE IDIOT?"

"Shut up in there!" A voice echoed down the hall. All the lights suddenly came on. The sudden brightness stung all their eyes. Nidhiki, followed by the elite Bordakh marched to their cell. "Comfortable?" Nidhiki said with a devious grin. "Burn in hell!" Vakama yelled.

"It's time for your 'treatment'." Nidhiki smirked devilishly. "You know the routine, Nokama." Bordakh said. Nidhiki pressed a few buttons beside the cell; shutting down the electric field. The Bordakh walked in and grabbed Nokama's chain. "What are you gonna do to her!" Onewa yelled. "Leave her alone!" shouted Matau.

"You'll find out soon enough what we're doing. In the meantime you can sit back and listen!" Bordakh said with a laugh. "GUH!" He yelled suddenly as Whenua leapt at him; body-checking him out of the cell. "Whenua what are you doing?" Nokama said in confusion.

Bordakh got to his feet angrily. "Fine, we'll take Whenua instead. I'll pass you onto Rorzakh. He'll enjoy being the one to torture first." Bordakh then looked at Nokama, "You got off for now, Nokama. But he's only delayed the inevitable." He then grabbed Whenua's chains and dragged him away.

"_Why?_" Nokama thought, "_Is he brave or just stupid? Why would he try to fight, even when there's not chance he will win?_"

"Now I'll be taking you, Vorak." Nidhiki said. He grabbed and picked up Vorak with one hand by the chains that tied his claws back. Vorak did not protest. Nidhiki re-activated the electric field, and walked away in the opposite direction that Bordakh had gone in.

There was a long silence in the cell, until Matau suddenly cleared his throat. "I knew Whenua was as stupid as me."

"Shut up, Matau," Nuju said.

&&&&&&&&

Rorzakh threw Whenua to the ground inside a room, kicking him in the stomach a few times, knocking the wind out of him. The room was full strange equipment and weapons. Whenua dreaded what they were going to be used for. There was a strange table that looked as though it could move to an upright position. There were shackles on it, which had a lot of wires hooked up to them. He also noticed a huge hooked hanging ominously in the middle of the room by a large chain.

Rorzakh turned a crank, causing the hook to lower. He then walked over to Whenua and hoisted him up and hooked him onto it by the shackles that bonded his hands. Rorzakh chuckled. "You're gonna wish you never became a Toa." He then walked back to the crank and raised the hook at little so that Whenua's feet were not touching the ground.

His hands tied, hanging by his arms, with his legs tied at the ankles; Whenua was helpless.

Rorzakh suddenly spoke, "You know, those new chains are quite remarkable. Not even Krekka could break out of them when we first tested them. It's a newly refined form of ordinarymetallic Protodermis, discovered by Ga-Metruan scientists. Though it is still in essence Protodermis, they call it 'Titadermis'. Because it is so strong not even a titanic being would be able to break it." Rorzakh said, marveling at the power the chains had over his victim.

Whenua remained silent, staring down at Rorzakh with disgust. "I thought as an Archivist, you would be interested in such a discovery, would you not?" Rorzakh taunted.

"I don't give a Rahi's ass." Whenua replied scornfully. "I stopped being an Archivist as soon as I became Toa. And quite frankly, I'm glad I did. Being an Archivist was not my type of job."

"Then would you not care if they entire Archive complex were eradicated? Would you not protect it?" Rorzakh asked curiously. "Of course I would protect it. The profession might not mean all that much to me, but that falls in comparison to how much the job and the complex matters to the majority of the Onu-Matoran population. So, yes I would protect it because they love it. Not whether or not I care all that much for it myself."

"You're starting to make me sick. How about we just get this show on the road, eh? All this talk is making me fall asleep." Rorzakh walked over to a rack, which had many weapons on it. He put down his only staff, which was in his right hand. He then picked up a spear like weapon. He walked up to and stood in front of Whenua, waving the spear around a little. He then pressed a button on the end of it and a small laser like blade appeared out of the end of it.

Whenua stared at the blade, and its millions of promises of pain to come. "This will only be the beginning." Rorzakh said.

&&&&&&&&

It had been many hours, and Whenua had still not come back. His cries of pain were occasionally so great that they echoed through the halls. Vorak had not come back either,but there was no sound ever heard. The Toa Metru seemed to all be asleep; despite the trouble they had doing so. Gali was awake however. She had found it too hard to even shut her eyes. What if the Toa Nuva never find her? What if they find her and she's already dead? These questions buzzed through her head faster than a swarm of Nui-Rama. One of Whenua's shouts echoed softly through the hall again, causing her to shudder.

"Are you alright?" A voice suddenly asked. Gali raised her unmasked head in surprise; looking to where the voice had come from. "Who said that?" She asked the voice.

"I did." Nuju then slowly scooted himself out of the shadows and into the ray of light that Gali was sitting in. He sat beside Gali, leaning his back against the wall. "So, _are_ you alright?"

Gali sighed. "I'm ok I guess. About as good as I can be right now." She said, sighing again. "What do you mean?" Nuju asked curiously.

"Well, right now I'm locked in a cell with five complete strangers. Separated from my brothers and listening to the sounds of someone I consider a friend getting tortured for I have no idea how long. And the sad part is that it's not going to get any better than this." Gali explained.

Nuju sighed heavily. "I'm really sorry you got involved in this. I don't know why and I don't know how, but you got involved. But, I promise you I will never let anything happen to you." Nuju said sincerely. Nuju then put his hands together. Gali could feel the cold as he did something with ice in between his cupped hands. Nuju opened his hands and inside was an exotic flower made of ice. "My name is Nuju, by the way." He said as he placed it in her hand.

Gali smiled at him. "My name's Gali." She found herself staring at Nuju for a while, and then realized what she was doing. A light blue blush appeared on Gali's face and quickly looked away to the floor in front of her. "So, uh, what's it like where you're from?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, our island of Metru Nui, which is where we are now, is in fact entirely a city. When I was a Matoran I lived in Ko-Metru and I worked in the Knowledge Towers, where I tried to make predictions of the future with other scholars." Nuju explained.

"You were a Matoran once?" Gali said in surprise. Nuju returned a confused expression. "Yeah, of course I was. Weren't you?"

"No, I wasn't. I came to Mata Nui in a canister and was always a Toa. Same goes for my brothers." Gali explained. "Shh." Nuju said, quieting her. Footsteps and the sound of something being dragged could be heard down the hall.

Rorzakh walked by the front of the cell, dragging Whenua behind him, followed by three other robotic Rorzakh. A trail of blood was left behind as Whenua was dragged. Rorzakh pressed a few buttons on the terminal next to the cell, deactivating the electric field. He threw Whenua to the floor in front of Nuju and Gali. He then pressed the buttons on the terminal again and walked away.

They could hear Whenua breathing, but besides that he was completely silent. "Whenua?" Gali asked with worry in her voice.


	21. Chapter 21: Face to Face with Dume

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 21: Face to Face with Dume

It was several hours after Whenua had been thrown back in the cell. His bleeding had stopped, and he was now sitting against a wall. He had not said anything since he was thrown in. Nuju still sat with Gali, and the others were now awake. Whenua's silence was contagious; no one felt like talking, but they all stared at his dark green eyes in the dark, which were staring off into nothing.

Whenua's face was that of suffering and hate. But what was unknown to them was the self realization that was going on through Whenua's mind. It was no one else's fault but his that he just went through all that pain. There is a fine line between enjoying a battle and being cocky. A battle is something to enjoy, but also to be taken very seriously. For the first time in his life, Whenua was analyzing his past.

He wondered to himself; what victories did he have? He had lost to Onua when they encountered. Had it not been for Vakama he may have died. And that fight also led to the Toa Nuva fighting against them, when they could have been a valuable ally. When he fought Vorak, it was a completely one-sided fight. There was no hope that Whenua would have ever won and yet he didn't try to run at all. There was nothing at stake. It wasn't like he was fighting to protect someone else, or with the intent of vanquishing a foe he believed in his heart he was able to defeat. It was a case of blind arrogance; and Whenua now realized that he hated himself for it.

The others continued to stare at Whenua as his expression slowly became angrier, and yet he still was lost in his own mind; paying no attention to the world around him. "I wonder what he's thinking about…" Matau said softly. He then looked over to Nokama, but she shook her head.

Whenua started speaking softly; at a tone they could barely hear. "A battle is to be taken seriously… They are fun but they are not a game… Don't look for a meaningless fight just to boast, only one for a worthwhile cause…"

"What's he saying?" Onewa wondered out loud.

Whenua continued speaking to himself, only a little louder, "If something or someone important is at stake then you fight until only one of you is left standing or the enemy retreats…" Whenua's voice elevated to a point where the others could hear him quite loudly, "And if the only life at stake is your own and you know in your heart you are unable to win then try to retreat and LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY!" Whenua screamed at the top of his lungs in psychological rage.

Whenua's eyes returned to the realization of the world around him. He looked back and forth at the other Toa. They all had faces of shock from his sudden outburst. Whenua didn't say anything; he just closed his eyes and almost immediately fell asleep; exhausted from the last few hours of misery.

&&&&&&&&

Nidhiki walked down a corridor; dragging Vorak's broken but living body behind him. He opened a pair of large doors, which led into a large room. Nidhiki had traveled through the catacombs that made up the Vahki prison up into the halls of the Coliseum, until he made it into Turaga Dume's throne room.

Three robotic Nuurakh stood on either side of the throne, motionless but ready to defend. The throne was empty however. Nidhiki stepped forward and looked around. Dume stood on a balcony to the right, talking to his bird Nivawk, which was perched on the balcony edge. Dume quickly notice Nidhiki and entered the throne. Nivawk flew off.

"How did he do?" Turaga Dume asked. Nidhiki threw Vorak before him. Vorak had his arms and legs tied, and he was bleeding a little. "He withstood all the tests." Nidhiki said informatively.

"Hmm," Turaga Dume pondered, stroking his chin, "Even without his Kraata he withstood all of it? That is impressive, especially since it holds all of his mask powers. Isn't it?" Turaga Dume said to Vorak contemptuously. "How do you know so much about me?" Vorak managed to ask. "Let's just say a little bird told me." Dume said with a grin. Turaga Dume then looked up and Nidhiki and made a nodding gesture with his head. Nidhiki smashed a claw down, knocking Vorak out.

"What about the Toa Metru? How have their tests gone?" Dume then asked. "As you know, Nokama has more than passed them. Bordakh's just been having fun. Whenua was tested for about five hours. He appears to have survived as well." Nidhiki told him.

"Good," Dume replied, "While Vorak goes through the procedure the Toa will continue to be tested. If the full procedure is a success with Vorak then they will be submitted to it as well."

"Vakama is being tested as we speak," Nidhiki said, "But what of the second Toa of Water? The one that Krekka picked up."

"Hopefully her being here will draw the others in her squad of Toa to us. If so, then they will be submitted to the procedure as well, and our plan with be evermore re-enforced." Dume said with a smile. "Remember though, if they start to pose too great of a threat, then kill them. Now take Vorak to the room where phase one of the procedure will be initiated. Once it is completed remember to monitor him incase his body starts to reject it."

Nidhiki left the room, dragging Vorak behind him. Dume walked out to his balcony and stood surveying the glorious city that was Metru Nui. "The revolution is soon at hand." He said.

&&&&&&&&

Nuurakh, followed by four other robotic ones approached the cell and threw Vakama inside. They activated the field again and marched off.

Vakama rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling, not saying anything. "The result is always the same," Nokama said sadly, "the painful silence."

"What is with those Vahki?" Gali asked. "Why are six of them alive, while all the others are robotic?"

Onewa explained, "We're not sure where they came from, but Turaga Dume introduced them as the new leaders of law enforcement about 100 years ago. Shortly afterwards, robotic copies were ordered to be manufactured, and the original six led them all."

Suddenly the electric field went down and Nidhiki walked in front of the opening. He threw Vorak inside; who was twitching. He worked the terminal and left.

Even though he was an enemy, the Toa looked at Vorak with pity, horrified at what he might have gone through. Though Whenua and Vakama looked bad when they came back; Vorak looked butchered. Vorak made a final twitch, and then opened his eyes.

He slowly wriggled his way to a sitting position and leaned against the wall. He then noticed all the Toa were staring at him. "What?" He said scornfully.

"What did they do to you?" Nokama asked. She had looked past the wounds on his body; which were very bad, and into his mind. Something was not right about it. It was different from when it was when he was taken. She could not pinpoint what it was though.

Vorak was staring right back at Nokama, as if he was looking past her as well. They both stared into each others orange eyes for a long time, as if trying to figure each other out.

"What are they doing?" Matau asked in a low voice.

"I don't know." Whenua responded lowly.

"Stay out of my head." Vorak said, in a snarling tone. Nokama stopped, and looked as though she was very tired. "They've done something to your head, Vorak." She told him, panting. Vorak returned an expression that seemed to ask; are you sure?

Suddenly the six elite Vahki appeared in front of the cell. "Turaga Dume wants to see you." Keerakh said with a sneer.

&&&&&&&&

The Toa Metru all found themselves standing in front of Turaga Dume's throne. Gali and Vorak were left behind. The six Vahki were standing behind them. "If you don't want to die I suggest you get on your knees before your ruler!" Rorzakh said, as all the Vahki kicked the Toa Metru to their knees.

"If living means obeying your rule," Whenua started, "Then I'd rather die on my feet with my head held high!"

"Well said." Vakama replied with a smirk.

Dume ignored the comment. He was holding a glass full of liquid Protodermis in his hand. He took a sip, and then said, "I'm going to give you a choice. You can either join me now, or continue the hell you are currently going through. And trust me; it is going to get much, much worse." Dume said sincerely. The Toa all stared at him with resentful eyes. He knew their choice. Turaga Dume grinned.

"Hmm, your silence speaks louder than words," Dume said. "I'm a fair Turaga. I gave you a choice. But I'm going to be one hundred percent honest with you. I was relying on you all saying no." He said fiendishly. "Get them out of here." He ordered the Vahki.

"What do you mean by that!" Onewa yelled angrily. "You can't do this to us!"

"I've already done it you foolish sculptor. And you can forget about any hope of rescue. We've ensured that your friends; those four Matoran and the other Toa will never come for you."

"You bastard!" Whenua yelled, struggling to get free of Rorzakh's grasp. "What have you done to them?"

"That is no longer a concern of yours. But be assured you'll never see them alive or dead again." Dume said, starting to laugh maniacally.

"You'll pay Dume! I swear to Mata Nui you'll pay!" Whenua yelled, his voice becoming more distant as he was dragged down the halls with the other Toa Metru.


	22. Chapter 22: Unexpected Visitor

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 22: Unexpected Visitor

The Vahki had brought the Toa Metru back to their cell, and thrown them back in. Whenua had to be knocked out because he had been struggling too much. Vorak paid no attention to the Toa Metru returning. Gali stared at the Vahki. They all had satisfied grins on their faces.

Vorzakh looked at Gali. "I love to be the bearer of bad news," He said, his grin growing wider, "I'm afraid that you friends won't be coming. They've been eliminated."

The news struck her like a ton of bricks. She looked stunned with disbelief. _Onua… Tahu… Lewa… Kopaka… Pohatu… Takanuva… Nuhvok… How could they all be dead?_ She almost refused to believe it.

Nuju looked at her sympathetically. Though he had a moderate idea of what she felt, feeling the pain of having lost his friend Ehrye, he could not fully relate and he felt very bad for her. He wished there was something he could do, but he could only try and defend her physically. Such mental anguish is unstoppable.

Whenua started to wake up. He was closest to the opening of the cell. He was lying on his back staring up at the Vahki as they laughed in the gruel manner that they so often do. He noticed a higher level as he looked past the Vahki. There was a railing running along the side of it. It was like a second floor inside the room. That's when he saw it. Something monstrous was looking over the top of it. It wasn't Nidhiki or Krekka.

It jumped off of the higher level, landing on top of Vorzakh with a crash, smashing him into the floor. The Vahki all fell back in astonishment at the site of the monster. It stabbed down with the two monstrous claws in its right hand into Vorzakh's head; killing the elite Vahki. It swung its other arm, striking down Zadakh and Bordakh. Rorzakh, Nuurakh and Keerakh fled.

The monster turned towards the opening of the cell. It was none other than Panrahk. "What is he doing here?" Gali wondered in awe.

Panrahk scanned the inside of the cell, his eyes resting upon Vorak. He then approached the terminal. He stabbed into it with his huge claws, overriding the power. The field went down. He picked up Vorak with his non-clawed hand. He held up his claws; they started to glow a dark purple. He slid them across the chains; breaking them with ease.

He put Vorak down. Vorak stretched from being uncomfortably tied up for so long. He looked at the Toa Metru and Gali inside of the cell. Then turned his head and ran off. Panrahk jumped back up to the higher level.

"What are we supposed to do!" Matau yelled after Vorak. He didn't answer.

&&&&&&&&

Vorak ran through the halls as fast as he could. He had turned many corners and around many passages. Sometimes it seemed like he was going in circles. He had to find his Kraata; otherwise he would never get out. And without his Kraata he wasn't nearly as fast. Suddenly he heard someone coming from around a corner up ahead.

The two robotic Vorzakh stormed by. Vorak dropped down from the ceiling, having jumped up and held onto it in time so that the two Vahki did not see him. He continued running, deciding to go down the passage the two Vahki had come from. He turned a few more corners and ran up some stairs.

Vorak found himself standing on a higher level. There was a guard rail, which he looked over. The cell was below him. The entire level he was in was completely trashed. A few destroyed Vahki lay strewn about, and there was a hole in the ceiling that appeared to have been where Panrahk came through. It didn't appear to lead out of the prison though. There was a door on the other wall labeled: **Storage**. It was locked, but Vorak made short work of that, smashing the door open.

"Looks like they're chains are stronger than their locks." He said with a smirk. Inside was bright and full of different weapons and devices. Then he saw a jar, and inside it was his Kraata. His beautiful black and red Kraata.

Vorak opened the jar, letting it crawl out onto his arm. It climbed up and crawled into his back again. A little painful, as it dug its way back in, but it healed almost immediately. Vorak felt the power of all the masks and all the energy he had absorbed returning to his body. "I'm me again! I feel GREAT!" He yelled victoriously. Suddenly he noticed something familiar. All the Toa's masks and weapons were in a pile.

Vorak stood there staring at them, contemplating what he should do.

&&&&&&&&

The Toa Metru and Gali had all managed to get out of the cell, but they were still tied up and defenseless. Onewa was tugging at the chains hopelessly with all his might. "Forget it Onewa, there's sense trying to break it." Whenua said.

Onewa groaned. "If only we had a key of some kind!" He said with exasperation. "Or if I had my mask I could make one of the Vahki open it for us."

Right on cue Onewa's, along with everyone else's masks and weapons dropped from above, and then finally a single key. They all looked up; Vorak was floating above them. "A gift from me to you, Toa. Don't get used to it!" He then flew up and smashed through the ceiling.

Vakama grabbed the key and unlocked himself, and then freed everyone else. They all got up, feeling stiff from being chained for so long. They all placed their masks back on and grabbed their weapons.

"He was the last person I thought would help us." Gali said. "Don't get used to it." Whenua reminded her.

Suddenly the ground shook underneath them. It cracked and started to rise. They all jumped out of the way as the ground exploded upward. They all watched the hole expectantly as Nuhvok poked his head out. "Nuhvok!" Gali yelled happily, running up to him and hugging him. "They told us you were all dead!"

"Nice to see you to, Gali." He said nervously. She then let go.

"What are you talking about? About us being dead?" Nuhvok asked. The Toa Nuva and the four Matoran then quickly crawled out of the hole as well. Nuhvok climbed back in. "I'm gonna make sure it's safe to go back!" He yelled up to them.

"Nokama!" Vhisola yelled happily, running up to her friend. "I was so worried about you!"

Nokama smiled warmly at her friend. "I'm glad you were able to stay safe."

"What made you think we were dead?" Tahu asked Gali. "Turaga Dume told us they had killed you all." She replied. Suddenly Gali felt two arms rap tightly around her, giving her a crushing hug. "I was worried about you, Gali!" She heard Onua say right behind her, obviously the one hugging her. "Thanks Onua…but please let me go now." He let go and stood beside her.

Onua observed all of the Toa Metru, until his eyes fell on Nokama. "Maybe joining with the Toa Metru won't be so bad after all, eh?" He said as a huge smile appeared on his face.

"I convinced them to come help rescue all of you." Tehutti told Whenua. Whenua looked down at Tehutti and smiled. "You've done well. I'm proud of your courage." Tehutti grinned proudly.

Suddenly Nuhvok jumped out of the hole. "It's not safe! It's not safe!" He yelled as he started to run. They all started running after him. Vakama managed to take a glimpse back; dozens of robotic Rorzakh were climbing out of the hole.

&&&&&&&&

Rorzakh, Keerakh and Nuurakh burst into Dume's chamber. "Something has attacked the prison! It's killed Vorzakh!" Keerakh yelled. Dume slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne. "What is it? A Rahi? What?" He demanded to know.

"It looked like a Rahkshi," Rorzakh started, "But it was gargantuan! With two huge claws on its right hand!"

"Where the hell did it come from?" Dume said angrily. Suddenly something burst up through the floor. It landed with a crashed in front of the hole it came through. Facing Dume it let out a bellowing roar. It was Panrahk. "That's it! That's what attacked us!" Nuurakh yelled. It immediately started running at Dume, but the six robotic Nuurakh that stood motionlessly on guard sprung into action; leaping onto Panrahk.

Panrahk still kept running, with all six Vahki on top of him. Dume jumped out of the way as Panrahk smashed through his throne like an unstoppable juggernaut. He smashed all of the Vahki off of him. He ran at Dume again. Suddenly three blasts hit Panrahk in the shoulder, knocking him over. Dume looked to his left to see that Nuurakh, Rorzakh, and Keerakh had all shot Kanoka blasts at him. "Turaga Dume, we'll keep him busy! Summon Nivawk and get out of here!" Rorzakh yelled, leading the other two to attack Panrahk.

Dume ran to the outside balcony, in order to call Nivawk. Suddenly someone rose up from below the balcony. He floated in front of it, his arms crossed, looking down at Dume. "Where do you think you're going?" Vorak said angrily. Dume however, did not look the slightest bit scared. He lifted his hand and a sharp pain suddenly manifested in Vorak's head. "Arrrrrgh! What are you doing?" Vorak screamed in agony, grasping his head.

"I control what I own. And I own you!" Dume yelled. The pain became so intense that Vorak fell unconscious and started to plummet. Dume looked over the edge. Nivawk had swooped down and caught Vorak about halfway to the ground, and was starting to fly towards Dume.

Suddenly Dume heard a thump behind him. Panrahk had managed to get past the Vahki, though it appeared he had not killed them. He started to approach Dume. "Too late!" Dume yelled, as he jumped off of the balcony and onto Nivawk. He strapped himself onto the bird's chest and they started to fly away; Vorak grasped in one of Nivawk's talons.

Dume watched joyfully as he saw Panrahk roar with frustration. Krekka then came running out from inside Dume's chamber, and he body-checked Panrahk off of the balcony. Dume watched with satisfied pleasure as Panrahk fall from the Coliseum and smash into the ground below, causing many Matoran in the streets to panic. "Looks like I won't have to worry about him again." Dume said with a grin.

Author's Notes: I was just wondering; Nuhvok is a character that I invented myself in the game that the story is based on. I never really ever hear people talk about him in the reviews I receive. I'm just wondering: What do you personally think of the character, Nuhvok? Your answer will not affect the plot of my story in any significant way, I'd just like to know what you think of him. Thanks.


	23. Chapter 23: Narrow Escape

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 23: Narrow Escape 

All thirteen Toa, four Matoran and Nuhvok ran through the halls of the prison as fast as they could. They could not stop, otherwise the horde of Vahki that was chasing them would catch up, and it such tight quarters it would be hard to fend them off. They used Kopaka and Whenua to try and guide them out, since both their masks had the ability to see through walls.

Suddenly, they reached a fork in the road; with six different passages. "Which one do we go through?" Vhisola asked. They Toa all had a look of panic on their faces, unsure of where to go, and feeling the pressure of the horde that would soon catch up to them. Suddenly Vakama got an idea. "Nokama, Gali, combine your powers and make a flood to wash them away." He commanded. "It might whip out their circuitry too." Onewa said in realization.

Both Gali and Nokama stood in the opening of the passageway, everyone else behind them. As they saw the Vahki get closer and closer they blasted water out from their hands. The water rushed down the hall way, washing away all of the Vahki. They could see all of them shorting out. Gali and Nokama then ceased the water. "Good thing they weren't Bordakh." Nokama said as she turned back to everyone else.

"Which way should we go though?" Pohatu asked. Suddenly Nidhiki emerged from the shadows of one of the passages. "Now really, why must you leave so soon? We still have so much time to kill!" He yelled, running forward and striking Tahu and Kopaka with his right claw.

Onua gritted his teeth in anger. "All of you leave! Tahu, Kopaka and I will take care of this guy!" He yelled. They all chose one random passage and ran down it.

Onua and Nidhiki squared off. Nidhiki stared at Onua contemptuously, wondering how this Toa could possible believe he had a hope of winning. They both waited for each other to attack. Suddenly Nidhiki was struck from behind by Kopaka, who had jumped up and hit him in the back of the head with his shield. Nidhiki grunted in pain, holding the back of his head. Then, attacking from the right, Tahu jumped by and slashed Nidhiki across the chest, landing next to his brothers.

"We have to make this quick." Tahu said lowly. Onua and Kopaka nodded in agreement. "Then let's give him a scorching cold grave." Kopaka said with a grin. Tahu and Onua nodded in understanding. "Go!" Onua yelled.

Kopaka and Tahu ran at Nidhiki. They suddenly crossed paths, and Tahu fired a huge blast of fire at Nidhiki. Nidhiki tried to shield himself with his arms. Kopaka then relentlessly fired ice at the insect like being. As Nidhiki struggled to withstand the intense combination of heat and cold Onua brought down the ceiling that was above him, crushing Nidhiki.

"Let's go!" Tahu yelled, gesturing for them to follow him down the passage the others had gone in.

&&&&&&&&

Tahu, Kopaka and Onua ran down the halls as fast as they could. It was a good thing that Kopaka was with them, otherwise they would not be able to see the other Toa and where they were going. Onua was a fair length behind them, since he was not as fast as they were in more open areas.

"The others have stopped running." Kopaka said to Tahu. "What did he say!" Onua yelled from behind them. "He says the others have stopped!" Tahu yelled back to him.

They continued until finally they could see the others in front of a huge gate. The hall they were running in connected to a large chamber. They could now see that the others were fighting a lot of Vahki. Onua watched as Kopaka and Tahu sped ahead to help them. Onua was about to speed up when suddenly something grabbed him from behind and lifted him up, starting to crush him.

Onua immediately knew that it was Nidhiki who had grasped him with a huge claw. Nidhiki tossed Onua against a wall. He smashed off of it and skidded across the floor. "You think you can make a fool of me!" Nidhiki yelled angrily. He picked up Onua again by a leg and started thrashing him against walls, on the ground and even the ceiling. He then tossed Onua up into the air and punched away. Onua skidded against the hard stone floor and slowly he started to get back up. Nidhiki fired energy from his mouth, which hit the ground right next to Onua; blasting him farther back. Onua lay there motionless.

Onua was about twenty feet away from the others but, they were too busy fighting off Vahki to even notice him. Nidhiki approached Onua and grabbed him with both claws and started to squeeze him inward. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrhhhh!" Onua screamed as his chest started to compress. Suddenly a black ball came flying out of nowhere, striking Nidhiki in the face. Nidhiki let out a cry of surprise and pain as it hit him. It caused him to drop Onua. The ball uncurled; revealing that it was Nuhvok.

Nuhvok then jumped on Nidhiki's face; punching and kicking at it with all his strength. He even threw in a bite or two. Nidhiki grabbed Nuhvok with his pincer and chucked him hard against a wall. Onua lay gasping for breath on the ground, watching Nuhvok hit the wall. His attention then turned back to Nidhiki, who was standing in front of him again.

Nidhiki looked over to Nuhvok, seeing that he was getting back up. "Today is your lucky day. You get to watch your friend die!" Nidhiki turned again to Onua. He stuck out the blade of his claw, and pulled his arm back. He then thrust it forward.

Onua closed his eyes, waiting for the impending stab. He heard a noise like the claw had stabbed through something. But he felt nothing. Onua opened his eyes. They widened at the site that beheld him. Nuhvok had jumped in front of Nidhiki's claw.

The blade had gone through his neck. Nuhvok looked down at Onua, a glazed look in his eyes. He smiled faintly, "Br…o…th…er…" He said in a low voice. Nidhiki then clamped down with his claw, causing Nuhvok to make a painful twitch, and then his eyes faded into blackness and his body went limp.

Nidhiki tossed Nuhvok's body away like it was trash. "Oh well. This time you won't be so lucky."

Onua got up to his feet slowly, the rage coursing through his body. "You… You monster!" Onua yelled. He jumped up onto Nidhiki's front legs and stabbed one of his chainsaws into his gut, keeping the blade running. He then stabbed in his other one. Nidhiki choked from the pain. He pulled them apart, the weapons coming out on opposite sides of Nidhiki's waist. Onua then kicked him in the chin, sending Nidhiki reeling backwards. Nidhiki landed with a crashed and did not get up.

Onua stood there panting from the rage. He then walked over to Nuhvok, and knelt in front of him. "You are no traitor… and how could I have even been foolish enough to think so." A few tears started to fill his eyes, but he managed to stop them. He picked up Nuhvok's body and headed towards the huge gate. All the Vahki had been beaten, and the Toa were waiting by the door.

Author's Notes: This chapter was a little shorter than usual, but I had to finish off the whole prison thing, and there wasn't much else.


	24. Chapter 24: Birth of the Legion

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 24: Birth of the Legion

The Toa had all fled the Coliseum as fast as they could. The Vahki strangely had only chased them a little beyond the Coliseum gates. They had taken refuge in the 'Canyon of Unending Whispers'. The loneliness of this place made it perfect to hide in; since no Matoran or Vahki were ever really there.

The Toa all lounged in a council like circle. Some stood, while others sat down. Vakama and Tahu were standing. Nuhvok's body was a few feet away from them.

"Well, this isn't going to be easy," Vakama started, "since it's kinda hard to throw so many different Toa together and expect us all to co-operate. But we need to share what we know about the situation, and try to plan on what we should do next. First we should all introduce ourselves, so we can at least get to know each other a little better."

Matau raised his hand, "But I already know like half of you." Vakama rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger in exasperation. "You'll be introducing yourself to the seven others you DON'T know." He explained.

"I'll start." Tahu said, "My name is Tahu, and I am the leader of the Toa Nuva. I believe that honor, obedience and co-operation can lead a team through anything. My mask is a Hau Nuva, and I am very skilled with Magma Swords as well as the ability to manipulate fire." Tahu then passed it on.

One after another the Toa Nuva introduced themselves to the Toa Metru. "Ok guys, I guess it's our turn." Vakama said. "My name is Vakama. I lead the Toa Metru."

"For now…" Matau said. Vakama gave him a stern look, and then continued. "I was formerly a mask maker in the Ta-Metru foundries. I believe that any mission must be taken very seriously, and no unnecessary risks should be taken. I hate when people disobey instructions. My mask is a Great Huna. I am very accurate with my disk launcher, though I often prefer to use my powers in other ways." Vakama then gestured for another to take their turn.

"My name is Toa Matau. I was the best test driver in all of Le-Metru. My mask is a Mahiki. I am very skilled with my Aero Slicers, making me the best Toa-Hero in our squad." As Matau said that, a fist sized rock was chucked and it hit him in the head. Matau held his head in pain. "Ow! Who threw that?" Matau looked over at Onewa. Onewa pointed to his left; at Whenua. Whenua gave him a taunting wave. Matau glared back at him. "Who's next then?" Matau said.

"I'll go." Nuju said. "My name is Nuju. I once lived in the Knowledge Towers in Ko-Metru, along with other scholars such as I was. Inside these towers we attempted at making predictions of the future. My mask is a Great Matatu. Who'll go next?"

"My name is Nokama." Nokama said without warning. "I was once a teacher in Ga-Metru. My entire life I have had a limited ability to read the emotions and presence of others using telepathy. Unfortunately, it causes me too much strain to actually read what others are thinking. My mask is a Great Rau. Do you want to go next Onewa?"

"Sure, I'll go." Onewa said happily. "My name is Onewa. I was once a carver, but my dream has always been to construct great weapons. My mask is a Great Komau. I am looking forward to fighting alongside all of you." He said with a smile.

"I guess that just leaves Whenua." Nokama said. "Whenua?" They all turned their heads; Whenua was lying on his back, his hands rested behind his head. "Whenua it's your turn." Vakama said impatiently.

Whenua sat up. "Sorry about that. My name is Whenua and my mask is a Great Ruru. My ambition is to become a powerful Toa warrior and reclaim my honor by defeating Vorak. I am skilled with my earth-shock drills as well as hand to hand combat. Now can we get on with this please?"

"Of course," Takanuva responded. "Now let's get down to business. Are any of you familiar with Makuta?" Takanuva asked the Toa Metru.

"We've heard some things, but we do not know that much." Vakama replied. "What about him?"

"We have strong reason to believe that he has disguised himself as your leader Turaga Dume. Dume has had a spontaneous change in personality has he not?" Takanuva asked.

"Yeah, he's definitely been acting unlike he used to." Nokama said. "But if Makuta has disguised himself as Dume, then what are his motives? And what happened to the real Turaga Dume?"

Takanuva continued. "Both of those we are unsure of. I was under the impression that Nuhvok was a spy. I was hoping to get information from him." Suddenly Onua smashed his fist into the boulder he was sitting on. "Don't talk about him like that! He was a valuable ally and more when we needed one. He died in order to save my life and I'm not gonna let his sacrifice be in vain by letting you talk down about him like that! He has done more for us than those Toa Metru ever have!"

"Are you suggesting that that pathetic _bug_, which looks as though it belongs on display in the Archives, is worth more to this group than all six of us?" Whenua said scornfully. Onua got up and marched over to Whenua angrily. Whenua immediately stood up and stood his ground. Onua stood only inches away from him. "Guys calm down!" Gali yelled, but they ignored her.

"I take it back," Onua started. "He might not be worth more than all of you." Onua said, looking at the other Toa Metru. His eyes then met with Whenua's again. "But he sure as hell is worth more than you!"

Without even the slightest warning Whenua's fist met with Onua's face, sending him backwards to the ground. Onua started to get up, angrier than a herd of stampeding Kane-Ra bulls. The others then intervened.

The Toa Metru all tried to hold Whenua back, while the Toa Nuva tried to hold back Onua. Curses and taunts were continually shouted back and forth between the two.

"BOTH YOU STOP IT NOW!" Tahu yelled furiously. His shout echoed through the canyon so loud that it could probably be heard by someone atop a Knowledge Tower. Both Onua and Whenua stopped struggling. "Just cool off alright?" Onewa said to Whenua. "Sure…" Whenua replied.

Both Onua and Whenua sat down on the opposite ends of the circle of Toa. "Can we continue this now?" Takanuva asked impatiently. "Yeah." Onua said, panting from his rage.

Takanuva spoke again. "Anyways, continuing with the Makuta theories. Though I'm not sure how he survived our last encounter, it would explain the sudden appearance of Vorak, and Panrahk, which is that huge brown Rahkshi, returning with his new transformation. Only Makuta could have created them."

"Wait a minute." Onewa said. "That doesn't make any sense at all." Takanuva returned a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"Well first off, Vorak was being held in the cell with us. He was a prisoner just like us. They were submitting him to the same torture, and Dume kept mentioning some 'procedure' that Vorak and us were going to go through. Then the day we were freed from our cells, it was Panrahk that had done it. So that leaves one question: Why would he submit his own creations to horrid torture, when he could easily just make them join him? And why would they want to free themselves? That does not make sense." Onewa explained.

Takanuva rubbed his chin. "That is interesting… We'll all discuss this further later. In the meantime I suggest you all get to know each other better, while Tahu, Vakama and I try to figure this out. We'll update you all as soon as we come up with some new theories."

&&&&&&&&

High above the canyon below, Whenua secluded himself from the others. He swung fists at unseen foes, practicing his fighting technique. "_Damn Onua!_" He thought to himself as he fought the air around him. "_Who the hell does he think he is?_" Whenua suddenly pulled in his right arm and flexed it. "Let's see if I can pull it off this time." He said to himself.

Whenua crouched down and drove his fist into the ground. He focused his energy as hard as he could. Slowly glowing green cracks started to spread from where he had punched the ground. Whenua concentrated as he tried to guide the large, glowing green crack to a boulder about ten feet away.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked suddenly. It surprised Whenua and he broke his concentration. The energy from the crack erupted from the ground, creating a powerful blast. Whenua coughed as he tried to wave the dust away from his face.

The dust started to settle, and he saw a figure stand a few feet away from him. He immediately recognized it as a blue Toa. His heart raced for a moment, then stopped when he realized it was Gali. "Sorry." She said with a nervous smile.

"Don't worry about it." Whenua replied.

"What was that anyway?" Gali asked. "That was a new attack I've been working on. I focus my energy in the ground then guide it wherever I want it to go. It takes a bit of concentration to pull it off properly but hopefully if I keep training myself it will require little concentration at all. That's when I will use it in battle. I call it a Tremor Blast." Whenua explained with passion.

"That sounds useful. I hope you get the hang of it." Gali replied with a smile. "Why are you here anyway?" Whenua asked. "I wanted to talk to you…" She replied. "What about?" Whenua asked, wondering why she would want to talk to him.

Whenua walked over to her and they both sat next to each other on a boulder. "Whenua, I know we haven't known each other very long… but I consider you a really good friend, and the only one of your group I really trust. But why did you say that about Nuhvok?" Whenua saw that Gali had a look of hurt in her eyes.

He sighed, and closed his eyes heavily then opened them again, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry… I was unaware that you were close to him."

"Did you mean it?" Gali asked expectantly. Whenua put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "No I didn't." He said sincerely. "I was in no position to make a statement at all, considering I never knew him. I just… really don't like your brother." He took his hand off her shoulder.

"How come you don't like him?" Gali asked with confusion. "I hate his guts." Whenua replied simply. Gali shrugged it off. This was not a subject she wanted to delve deeply into.

"What was with the speech you made inside the cell? It kinda freaked us out since you weren't talking to any of us." Gali asked, trying to change the subject.

"I guess I had just about all that I could take of myself. That time being tortured gave me a lot to think about." Whenua replied. For a moment his mind drifted back to the buzz-saw that Rorzakh had used about half way through…

Though it slightly disturbed her, the statement made Gali laugh. "I don't see how you could think while being tortured. What do you mean you had all you could take of yourself though?"

"I was never taking my battles as seriously as I should have been. If I ever hope to protect what I care for I'm going to have to become a great warrior. And that takes great ambition and devotion, as well as discipline. And I guess I had to discipline myself." Gali smiled at him warmly. She admired his dedication.

"You're not all bad." She said, staring at him, continuing to smile. "What do you mean?" Whenua asked, raising an eyebrow. "I know why you attacked that Bordakh… when it and Nidhiki first came to our cell. That was the most selfless thing I have ever seen anyone do." Whenua's eyes trailed to the floor.

Gali stood up, then leaned forward and kissed Whenua on the cheek. "Just don't isolate yourself and things will work out for you." She whispered in his ear. Gali then walked past him.

Whenua turned around. "You know if you want to get to know the others I suggest you get to know Nuju first. He seems to have taken a liking to you." Whenua said with a grin. Gali blushed, "I will." She then turned back around and continued back to the edge of the canyon, making her way back to the others.

"You're welcome, Nuju. Now get out of here." Whenua said. Whenua's mask had spotted Nuju behind a large boulder that was in his view. Whenua watched as Nuju leapt back down the canyon. Whenua chuckled to himself. "I've never seen him act like this before." Whenua then started to think about what Gali had said. "Don't isolate myself huh? Maybe I should go talk to someone…"

&&&&&&&&

Onua sat high up on a ledge, looking out at the marvel that was the city of Metru Nui. He was always used to the tranquility of Mata Nui, and all the busy excitement of the city was a little overwhelming. He could not stop thinking of his recently deceased friend, Nuhvok. The guilt pained him that he left his friend with feelings of anger and distrust.

Suddenly, Onua heard something behind him. He quickly turned around and put up his guard, only to let it slip as he saw that it was the Toa Metru Nokama poking halfway from behind a boulder. She smiled shyly. Onua sat back down and stared out over the ledge again. "Hi…" She said reluctantly. "Mind if I sit down?" She said as she had walked over and stood beside him. "Sure…" Onua replied. Nokama sat left of him.

Though for a while Onua didn't notice, Nokama was staring at him. "What is it?" Onua asked, after realizing what she was doing, though he did not look back at her. "He was very close to you wasn't he?" Nokama asked. "…yes he was." Onua said, lowering his head sadly.

"What I can't stop thinking about," Onua started. "Is that he sacrificed himself because he felt he needed to in order to prove himself to me. I wish I had told him though. I wish I had told him how much of a brother I considered him."

Nokama looked at him sympathetically. "I'm so sorry. Were things bad between you?" She asked. Onua sighed. "Takanuva had led me to believe he might be a traitor. And I was so disloyal to Nuhvok that I actually started to believe it. I had betrayed him. And yet… the last thing he said to me before he died was…_brother_."

Nokama put her arm around Onua's shoulders and hugged him, resting her head on his left shoulder. Onua was embarrassed but welcomed her embrace. "That means that there were no bad feelings in him when he did it. Don't let his sacrifice die in vain. I know I didn't know him, but I don't thing he would want you to grieve like this. He made a brave choice, and though you may not agree with it, you should honor it." Nokama said. Onua looked at her and smiled. "Thank you…" He said, staring deeply into her orange eyes.

Suddenly, from behind the boulder that Nokama was hiding behind stomped out a figure. Both Nokama and Onua turned around quickly. Standing there, with his fists at his side and clenched was Whenua. "What do you want?" Onua asked dismissively. Nokama looked at Whenua; wondering the same thing.

Whenua groaned slightly at first, then said, "There's a meeting again." Whenua immediately turned around and headed back without saying another word.

&&&&&&&&

Nokama and Onua walked back to the group, but it didn't look like a meeting was going on at all. All that was happening was Lewa and Matau were in a heated argument, Onewa was sitting on a rock behind them, carving something out of a small stone in his hand as Pohatu observed, while Gali and Nuju sat talking a little farther away from the argument. Tahu leaned against a wall near Matau and Lewa; Vakama sat on a boulder next to him. Kopaka stood high above them on a cliff, staring off into the distance as he often did so. The four Matoran sat in a small circle on the ground, having a conversation.

"What kind of meeting is this?" Onua asked Tahu. "It's not really a meeting," Tahu said, "Lewa and Matau just thought it would be a good idea to name our group, since its not just Toa Nuva or Toa Metru anymore. However, they've started arguing about which name they think is better."

Onua grimaced. "What are the names?" Tahu sighed with exasperation. "Lewa wants to name us the League of Toa. Matau wants to name us the Legion of Toa."

Onua hung his head at the unbelievable stupidity of it. "Both names are practically the same…" Onua then said.

"It's amazing though," Tahu said. "They both act similar and yet they find that they must form a rivalry. You would think they would become good friends." Onua and Tahu both thought about what that would be like for a moment. "Maybe a rivalry isn't so bad after all. All we need them to do is co-operate." Tahu said. "I agree." Said Onua, bothered by how annoying things might be if they became friends.

Nokama had left Onua's side and had walked over to Onewa and Pohatu. "Where's Whenua?" She asked. "He said there was a meeting. But it doesn't really look like it."

"He's letting off some steam." Onewa replied; keeping his attention on the stone he was carving. "Something must have pissed him off."

Nokama wondered what would make Whenua so mad. Onewa spoke again, "I wouldn't say this isn't a meeting though. I want to be called the Legion of Toa." He said with a grin.

"We've made our decision!" Matau yelled finally. All of the Toa and Matoran looked at them expectantly. "We're gonna let you all decide!" Lewa shouted.

The final verdict was: Legion of Toa: 9, League of Toa: 4. "OOOOOHHHHHH!" Matau taunted. "In your face! IN YOUR FACE!"

"I'll show you!" Lewa said. Lewa and Matau started fighting each other. "Do you think we should intervene?" Vakama asked Tahu. "Nah," Tahu said. "I don't think they're fighting too seriously. Plus we've got a pretty good name now." Tahu said with a smile.


	25. Chapter 25: Procedure Completed

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 25: Procedure Completed

"How much longer do we have to feed him energy?" Dume asked the Matoran scientist, who was walking along-side him. They walked down the halls of a facility, escorted by several robotic Vahki.

"Well, we've been feeding him the energy through his hands for almost a day now. It has caused many problems with providing power for the city." The Matoran explained. The name of the scientist was Catila. She was a Ga-Matoran who wore a Miru. "I didn't ask how _long_ he's been hooked up for," Dume said in an irritated voice, "I asked how much _longer_ he will need to stay hooked up."

"N-not much longer, Turaga Dume. But you are aware of how powerful this is making him aren't you?" Catila asked, trying to maintain a calm voice. "I am fully aware of how strong this is making him. It doesn't matter though. As far as I am concerned he will never be conscious again. He will be an almighty slave to my every command." Dume said, admiring the thought.

"But you do realize he will be stronger than even Nidhiki or possibly Krekka don't you?" Catila asked. "That is my intention my dear. By the way, how is Nidhiki? I assume he's recovering yes?" Dume asked Catila.

"He should in fact be joining you shortly." Catila informed him. They entered the observation room. The room itself was empty, but there was a large window on the wall, where one could observe the operation taking place in the adjacent room. Dume looked through the glass at the Matoran monitoring the subject.

"What of the Rahkshi that attacked me in my chamber? Is it still alive?" Dume asked. "I don't think it could have survived the fall, sir." Catila said. "But when they got down there its body was nowhere to be seen."

"Hmm. Bring me, Okaab." Dume ordered. "I want to see the blueprints." "Yes sir," Catila said, giving a respectful bow, and then leaving the room.

Okaab was a Po-Matoran technician who wore a Ruru. Dume had selected him in-particular for this project. Nidhiki suddenly entered the room. "I have a question concerning mine and Krekka's fee." Nidhiki said.

"That's no longer a concern." Dume said, his eyes not moving from the window. "I've made a deal with the Shadowed One. You work for me now."

Nidhiki cringed with offence. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"It is for the best I assure you." Dume explained. "If all works out according to the plan the Dark Hunters would never even dream of standing against us. Everyone will bow down to us. Of course, what you see we are doing to Vorak," Dume gestured to window he was facing. Vorak lay on the table; dozens of wires hooked up to his hands.

"As soon as he has finished getting stronger, he will be subjected to the procedure. Soon the Toa will all be subjected to it as well. And when the Vahki army is complete, everything will be perfect." Dume said with a proud grin.

Dume's attention turned to the doorway. Okaab was standing there; quivering at the site of Nidhiki. Dume gestured for Nidhiki to leave. He nodded in compliance. "Enter Okaab." Dume ordered. "Show me the plans. I want to make sure they are perfect."

Okaab opened the large, rolled up sheet that was under his arm. "Well we have refined a Titadermis plate that will replace his current back section that contains his Kraata. That will make it so no one can ever get to his Kraata again. His right arm will be much larger; being infused with a Rorzakh staff and a Kanoka launcher. His left arm will be relatively the same size with a six clawed hand, four of which will be made of electrical energy."

Dume smiled, "Start the operation as soon as you can." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Okaab replied.

&&&&&&&&

It has been a week since, and the Legion of Toa still resides inside the Canyon of Unending Whispers.

"Is that all you've got!" Nuju yelled, running towards Vakama, holding one of his crystal spikes above his head. He swung his weapon down, but Vakama blocked it with his launcher. Then using his other hand, Vakama blasted Nuju back with a blaze of fire.

"Come on, Nuju! You can beat him!" Gali cheered from the sidelines. Nuju looked at her and grinned, and then looked back at his opponent. Vakama and Nuju both started stepping sideways, facing each other off.

Nuju ran at Vakama again, doing a horizontal slash. Vakama quickly ducked, and then landed back on his hands and kicked upward at Nuju. Nuju did a back-flip; dodging the kick and landing back on his feet.

Nuju started swinging his crystal spikes at Vakama with great force, which Vakama had trouble blocked with his launcher. Then with an upward swing, Nuju knocked the launcher out of Vakama's hand.

Vakama stepped backward cautiously, due to his current lack of being armed. "What will you do now that I've got the upper hand, 'fearless leader'?" Nuju taunted. "Heheh, I'll admit you're good, Nuju. But now it's my turn!" Vakama yelled, firing a blast of fire from his right hand.

The blast caught Nuju off guard and he staggered backward. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Vakama ran forward and grabbed the handles of Nuju's weapons. Vakama then jumped and kicked Nuju in the chest, sending him flying backwards. "Now you're unarmed too." Vakama said, throwing Nuju's weapons to the ground.

Nuju got up and loosened his shoulders. "Alright, but let's see how you handle this!" Nuju pushed his hands outward and fired a large blast of ice towards Vakama. Vakama reacted by doing the same with a blast of fire. The two streams of elemental power collided with each other, one trying to overpower the other.

"That's it, Nuju! You've got him on the ropes!" Gali yelled. "Come Vakama, you can beat him!" Nokama defended.

"I'm not so sure about that." Whenua said. He was standing to Nokama's right. Onua stood on the other side. "Why do you say that?" Nokama asked. "I don't know," Whenua started to explain, "It just seems that Nuju is more intent on causing Vakama harm than Vakama is to him. But that's just what I think. You're the telepath. You tell me what's really going on." Whenua said.

Nuju and Vakama continued to push back at each other as hard as they could. Vakama's knees were starting to buckle under the pressure. Suddenly, Nuju took one of his hands away. Seeing it as a good opening, Vakama put more force into his blast. Nuju quickly rolled out of the way and fired a blast at Vakama's legs.

Vakama stopped his fire and stood there struggling to move; the bottom half of his body frozen. Nuju walked up to him with a satisfied look on his face. "Ok, you win Nuju." Vakama said, panting from exhaustion. "Not yet." Nuju said. He then picked up one of his crystal spikes. "What are you doing?" Vakama asked, sounding worried.

Nuju walked up to him and kicked at Vakama's legs, knocking him off balance and sending him to the ground. Nuju then swung his ice crystal, down upon Vakama. All the other Toa lurched forward for a second, concerned that Nuju was about to kill Vakama.

Vakama opened his eyes. The ice crystal was mere inches away from his face. "That's when the fight would've ended." Nuju said, helping Vakama back to his feet. Vakama laughed edgily. "I thought you were gonna kill me there for a second."

Nuju chuckled. "I may take a sparring match a little seriously but I would never turn my weapon on one of my comrades with the intention of killing them."

&&&&&&&&

"So the Kane-Ra bull slammed into me, but I managed to catch it just in time, before it could smash me again," Onua was telling Nokama as they sat against the canyon wall. The other Toa were nearby, Whenua leaned against the wall with his eyes shut and his arms crossed a few metres away from them.

"I started to push back, until I lifted and tossed it backwards through the air." Onua continued. "Wow," Nokama said; her eyes wide with amazement. "Kane-Ra bulls are really big. You must be really strong." Nokama said, sounding impressed.

"A Kane-Ra weighs at about half a ton." Whenua said, having overheard the story. "But it is Onua's Pakari that makes him strong. I bet you could never do that with your mask off." Whenua scoffed. "How about I show you just how strong I am!" Onua said, getting up angrily. "Okay, let's see what you've got!" Whenua said, walking over to Onua tauntingly.

Nokama got in between them. "Stop this right now! You have no reason to fight over something so trivial!" Whenua had stopped as soon as Nokama stood in the way.

"Get out of the way, Nokama." Onua said. "I wouldn't want you to get involved in this." He continued angrily. "I'm not moving, Onua." Nokama said defiantly. Onua sighed. "I'm sorry, Nokama."

"You two need to stop this foolishness!" Nokama said. "I want the both of you to shake hands and forget about it right now. Though Onua made a look of disapproval, he walked up to and stood in front of Whenua and outstretched his hand. Onua waited impatiently. Whenua looked down at Onua's hand, and then looked at Nokama. She was looking at him expectantly.

Whenua's expression was emotionless and cold. He simply turned around and started walking away. Onua turned around and shrugged his shoulders. "I think he may be more stubborn than Kopaka is about actually working with somebody."

Nokama sighed and hung her shoulders. She looked up at Onua. His expression suddenly looked anxious and fearful. "What is it?" Nokama asked, starting to feel a little scared.

"Move now!" Onua yelled, running forward and pushing Nokama out of the way. She hit the floor, feeling a little rattled. She saw Whenua turn around towards the commotion on the other side of Onua.

Suddenly, a huge blast hit Onua and smashed him into the canyon wall. "Onua!" Nokama yelled in surprise.

Whenua ran over. The other Toa were making their way over quickly as well. "Are you alright?" Whenua asked Nokama. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She replied. She knelt down beside Onua.

Whenua looked up at the canyon wall parallel to them. Up on the ledge were three figures. The ones on the right and left Whenua immediately identified as Nidhiki and Krekka. The one in the middle, however, he was unsure of. The middle one suddenly leapt down to the ground, landing about fifteen feet away from Whenua with a crash.

Standing there was Vorak, altered from his previous form.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the lack of updates over the past week or so. I was away on vacation. But now I will hope to get back into fast updates again. To view images of Vorak's new form, click on the homepage link in my profile.


	26. Chapter 26: A Moment Interrupted

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 26: A Moment Interrupted

The Legion of Toa stood in a group, staring at the trio of titans that stood before them. The Matoran had fled inside a cave. "You're outnumbered." Tahu said to Nidhiki. The five elite Vahki then leapt off the cliff and landed among Nidhiki and the other two.

"We may be outnumbered," Nidhiki said with a grin, "But you're outgunned." Nidhiki said, gestured to the behemoth, Krekka, and the cybernetic nightmare, Vorak.

"We're giving you all one last chance." Nidhiki said. "Join now willingly or we'll take you ourselves. Make your choice."

"We'd rather die than join the likes of you!" Vakama shouted defiantly. Nidhiki scoffed. "Then you shall suffer the same fate as Vorak. It makes no difference to me."

"Vakama," Tahu muttered, "You, Whenua, and I will take on Vorak." Tahu instructed. "No," Whenua said, "I want Rorzakh."

Vakama sighed, "This is no time for petty feuds." Whenua frowned coldly at him. "This is not _petty_, it's personal." He said very seriously. It suddenly came back to Vakama the pain that Whenua had gone through, and knew full well that it was a horrible thing to go through. Vakama nodded in agreement, "Ok, just make sure you make it count. You're not the only one who went through that."

"I know," Whenua said, "You… and Nokama went through it; Nokama more than either of us." Whenua then cracked his neck, "I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Do not forget," Vakama reminded him, "It is against the Toa code to kill an enemy." Whenua did not respond.

"Anyways," Tahu said to Vakama, "You, _Onewa_ and I will fight Vorak." Tahu looked to the other Toa, who had all been listening. "I'll take on Krekka." Nuju said. "I will too." said Gali. "I'll take Keerakh." Kopaka said. "I'll fight Zadakh." Pohatu said immediately after. "I want Bordakh." Nokama said, pulling out her weapons. "I'll fight with Nuurakh then." Takanuva said.

Lewa and Matau both grimaced and looked at each other. "I guess that means that I've gotta team up with a weak Toa like you huh?" Matau said tauntingly. "Don't start this crap now!" Tahu shouted at them. "You've both got to work together to fight Nidhiki. End of story!"

The Legion of Toa then broke off into their different teams, to fight with their enemies.

&&&&&&&&

Whenua and Rorzakh were running at each other, going full speed. Rorzakh leapt into the air, getting ready to kick Whenua. Whenua crouched and skidded across the ground, dodging Rorzakh's attack. Rorzakh landed and turned around, grunting angrily. He ran at Whenua again and swung his staff at him. Whenua ducked, and then swung one of his earth-shock drills upwards, hitting Rorzakh in the chin. He staggered backwards in pain. Whenua then jabbed his right drill forward, hitting Rorzakh in the chest. He then jabbed his left one, and swung his right; hitting Rorzakh in the face and sending him toppling to the ground.

Rorzakh looked up at Whenua in pain. Whenua was breathing hard; his eyes filled with hatred and rage. "There is no way I am losing to a weak Toa like you!" Rorzakh yelled angrily, slowly getting to his feet.

Rorzakh ran at Whenua again and once again swung his staff. Whenua ducked out of the way. Rorzakh then did and under-hook and punched Whenua in the stomach as hard as he could with his silver claw. Whenua lurched forward; holding his gut in pain. Rorzakh then jumped up and kicked Whenua in the face. Whenua fell backwards through the air and landed on his back.

As Whenua stared up at the sky in pain, Rorzakh suddenly appeared above him and jabbed the point of his staff into Whenua's gut. "GGGGAAAAAAKKKKK!" Whenua yelled in pain, as he let go of his weapons and clutched the end of the staff, trying to lift it off. Rorzakh stood there sneering, pushing down harder on the staff. "I'll admit, you gave me a scare there for a second. But I always knew you were just a Matoran in Toa armour." Rorzakh said contemptuously.

Whenua cringed with pain, and let go of the end of the staff, knowing that there was no hope of getting it off at this point. Whenua then realized his one chance for survival, but it would be hard to accomplish. However, Whenua wasn't just gonna let Rorzakh defeat him so easily. He refused to be submitted to the procedure that Vorak had gone through.

Whenua smashed his right fist into the ground. Dark green energy started to manifest underneath the ground. A glowing green crack started to make its way towards Rorzakh. "What the hell is that?" Rorzakh said with puzzlement. The crack stopped underneath Rorzakh. "Tremor Blast!" Whenua managed to choke out.

The energy erupted upward from the ground. Rorzakh let out a pain-filled cry as he was blasted far and high through the air, away from Whenua. Whenua slowly staggered to his feet, holding is gut; which was still in immense pain. Slowly as the adrenaline returned to Whenua's body he started to forget about the pain as he made his way over to Rorzakh, a proud smile on his face. "I actually managed a Tremor Blast." He said with pride.

Whenua stood before Rorzakh. He was smouldering and badly hurt, but alive. Whenua lifted Rorzakh to his feet. Rorzakh swayed back and forth in a painful daze. Whenua cracked his knuckles and then punched Rorzakh in the face. He then punched him again, and again and again and again and again and again and again, slowly pushing the Vahki back. Whenua then started rapidly punching Rorzakh in the stomach. Then with a final strike he delivered a powerful uppercut to Rorzakh's jaw.

Rorzakh fell backward; collapsed among the sand and stone. Whenua could see that the Vahki was still alive. Whenua stared down at the Vahki for a long time, contemplating what he should do. "Hmm…virtue." Whenua then left the Vahki lying there.

&&&&&&&&

Krekka swung his large fists violently at Nuju and Gali. They leapt backwards in unison; dodging the attacks. The more Krekka missed, the angrier he had gotten. He flipped the Kanoka launcher that rested on his shoulder and started firing in all directions at Gali and Nuju.

The dust settled and Krekka stared anxiously through it; checking for the two Toa. But they were nowhere in sight. Suddenly Krekka felt as surge of stinging pain as Nuju jumped onto his back. Nuju was holding on by digging his crystal spikes into Krekka's shoulders.

Krekka writhed in pain as he flailed and tried to get Nuju off. Suddenly, from Krekka's front, Gali fired a huge blast of water at Krekka, projecting him backwards into a rock face. Nuju had jumped off in time. He landed next to Gali and smiled, "Nice shot." Gali smiled back, "Thanks."

Krekka burst forth out of the rocks he was buried under with a roar. "Die!" He yelled, sprinting at the two Toa. They both leapt out of the way in opposite directions. Krekka kept on running; following Gali. "Oh no!" Nuju yelled, when he realized.

Gali landed, and Krekka delivered a devastating punch to the Toa Nuva of Water. Gali was knocked flying and skidded across the sand. Krekka smiled with satisfaction and slowly started to lumber over to her. Nuju jumped forward and dropped kicked Krekka in the back with two feet, causing Krekka to stumble forward. Nuju then flipped to Krekka's front and leapt up and hit him in the jaw with one of his crystal spikes.

Nuju looked up at him panting. Krekka wiped his bleeding jaw, and then made a snarling expression. He kicked Nuju in the chest, knocking him onto his back. Krekka then grabbed him by one of his legs, and then turned around and tossed Nuju as far as he could. He watched as Nuju got smaller and smaller, and then smash into a canyon wall.

Satisfied, Krekka turned back around to Gali. Out of nowhere he saw Gali jump up and slash him in the face with one of her Aqua Axes. Krekka roared in pain. Gali then slashed him two more times in the chest and stomach. In anger, Krekka grasped Gali by her shoulders and lifted her up. He brought his face and inch away from hers. "I will crush your body to nothing." He grunted.

Krekka started compressing inward on Gali's shoulders. She screamed in pain as she was slowly being crushed by the titanic being. Suddenly Nuju skidded to a halt beside Krekka, catching his attention. "Eat this!" Nuju yelled angrily pushing Krekka back with a powerful telekinetic blast. The blast made Krekka release his grip on Gali.

Nuju caught Gali in his arms. "Are you ok?" He asked with concern. She groaned with pain. "I don't think I'm too banged up." She said, smiling up at him. Nuju smiled back at her, putting her back on her feet. They looked into the distance at Krekka; he was slowly getting back up. "I've got a plan," Nuju said, "But we need to get up the canyon." He said, pointing upwards. "No problem." She smiled.

Suddenly water gushed forth from the ground underneath of Nuju and Gali. "Wow, your good." Nuju said, sounding impressed. They both jumped off of the water streams and onto the canyon ledge. They looked over the edge; Krekka was already below them. He noticed them atop the canyon wall and started to climb.

"So what's your plan?" Gali asked. "We're gonna distract him, and then jump out of the way at the last moment, tricking him into falling off the canyon." Nuju said simply. "You really thought ahead didn't you?" Gali complimented. "I'm from Ko-Metru. I always think ahead." Nuju said with a grin.

Krekka reached the top of the canyon and immediately ran after the two Toa. They quickly ran around Krekka and stopped about a foot away from the cliff's edge. Krekka turned around angrily. "Time to die!" He began running at them again.

"On the count of three, move." Nuju instructed Gali. She nodded in compliance. "1…2…3!" He yelled. Both Gali and Nuju dashed in opposite directions. Not showing any signs of slowing down, Krekka was about to run off of the cliff. However, Gali had not moved fast enough, and was struck with one of Krekka's arms; knocking her off as well. "Ahh!" She screamed.

"I'm coming!" Nuju shouted, running to where she was and diving off. Streamlining his body, Nuju caught up to Gali and grabbed her by the waist and held her close. "Hold on!" Nuju shouted. He turned over, making it so that he was on the bottom. "What are you doing!" Gali shouted.

They hit the ground with a crash; Nuju absorbing almost the entire force of the impact. Gali rolled off of him. "Nuju are you ok?" She asked anxiously. The area where he had hit the ground was cracked and smashed in. Nuju opened his eyes and slowly turned his head towards Gali. He smiled faintly. "I'm…glad to see that you're ok." He said. "Is Krekka down?" Gali looked over to the giant. He looked like he was out cold. "Yeah, he's down."

Gali smiled down at Nuju warmly, "Why did you do that?" Nuju breathed in deeply for a second. He wasn't in very good condition from that fall. "…I protect those that I love… I love you Gali…" Gali blushed light blue for a second and held Nuju's hand. She had never thought about the concept of love before. But couldn't help but return the feelings. She had spent a lot of time with Nuju over the past little while, and had grown very fond of him. They stared into each others eyes. Gali leaned forward, and hesitated for a moment, then moved in closer and their mouths met. The kiss lasted a few minutes, and then Gali finally pulled away slowly, smiling warmly at Nuju.

Nuju didn't want to speak. He felt so many emotions surging through him, it was almost overwhelming. It made him forget about the pain of the fall, and for the first time in his life he felt that he was truly happy.

Suddenly a blast came out of nowhere and hit Gali in the chest; knocking her away from Nuju. "Gali!" Nuju yelled, but the pain suddenly came back, crippling him from getting up. Zadakh, Bordakh, and Nuurakh appeared from behind Nuju. "Sorry to interrupt such a touching moment." Bordakh said deviously.

"You bastards!" Nuju snarled. Bordakh and Nuurakh lifted Gali by her arms. She was stunned and in a daze. "Don't worry," Zadakh said, standing over Nuju. "We'll take really good care of her." Zadakh then took off a chain that he had been carrying on a belt. Zadakh then kicked Nuju in the face, and Nuju's vision went black…


	27. Chapter 27: Ice Cold Rage

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 27: Ice Cold Rage

The Legion of Toa rested in the canyon, tired and badly beaten from the battle that had just ensued. Onua was still not conscious after being hit by Vorak's blast.

They had managed to drive Nidhiki and the others to retreat. The key to their victory was the mysterious disappearance of Krekka, and three of the Vahki. Also, much to the grief of the Toa, Ehrye had died during Kopaka's battle with Keerakh, which had made its way into the cave the four Matoran had been hiding in.

"Where are Nuju and Gali?" Nokama asked, concerned by the absence, as well as the fact Krekka had not returned either. "We don't know, Nokama." Vakama replied.

"Shouldn't we look for them?" Tehutti asked. "No," Tahu said, "None of us are in that good of a condition to go looking." Tehutti sighed deeply.

"I can go." Whenua said. They all looked at him. Despite his injuries, he _was_ the most able to do it. "Are you sure you want to?" Tahu asked.

"That…won't be necessary…" A voice said, turning the corner in the canyon wall. They all turned their heads in eager surprise, only to find it most unpleasant. Standing there, badly hurt and holding himself up with the wall was Nuju. He was bleeding and out of breath, but strangely he had splats of blood in areas where there were no wounds.

Nuju limped his way over to his comrades, who looked at him; wondering the horror of the unknown events that had transpired. The most disturbing fact of all however; was that Gali was not with him. Nuju had on his face; the most enraged face that they had ever seen. He stopped and looked at all the Toa that made up their Legion.

Nokama immediately sensed a strongest feeling of hate inside of Nuju. A type of hate she had ever felt before. It was not just an emotion; it seemed like an unforgivable, evil presence that lingered in the air.

"Are you ok?" Matau asked, breaking the silence. Nuju cracked his neck, "I'm amazed that you all even have the guts to call yourselves Toa…" Nuju said hatefully. "What are you talking about?" Vakama asked, taken off guard by the statement. Nuju ignored Vakama.

Nuju walked up to Pohatu and hoisted him to his feet. "So," Nuju said, "Tell me why Zadakh got away from you. Is he too strong for you? You're a second level Toa. Why couldn't you defeat him?" Pohatu stood there speechless due to puzzlement. Nuju punched Pohatu in the gut, sending him to his knees in pain. "What the hell!" Tahu yelled, helping Pohatu. Nuju still ignored.

Nuju stopped in front of Takanuva. "So you're supposed to be the 'great Toa of Light'?" Nuju asked tauntingly. He then hit Takanuva with a blast of ice. "Some great Toa." Nuju said sarcastically.

Nuju then stepped in front of Nokama. Whenua immediately got up and stood between them. "If you think you're laying a hand on Nokama, then you've got another thing coming. Now what's gotten into you, Nuju? And where's Gali?" Whenua asked cautiously. Nuju's face turned from anger to grief. "Gali's dead…"

&&&&&&&&

_One hour earlier…_

Desperately, Nuju limped across the sand and stone, following a trail that the Vahki had left behind. "I have to find Gali." He thought to himself. He started wondering why those Vahki were even there in the first place. Had the other Toa lost?

He reached the end of the trail at the ledge of a crater. At the bottom of it he saw a blue figure. "That has to be Gali!" He thought out loud. He tried to run down into the crater, but his injuries caused him to trip. Nuju fell down the slope, to the very bottom of the crater. He shook his head; stunned from the fall. As he looked up he was struck with horror.

The blue figure was definitely Gali, and was tied by chains to a boulder. Nuju got up and walked in front of her and fell to his knees. She had stab wounds all over her body, and it was at this point that he realized that she was not breathing. "No… Gali… GALI!" He shouted in unbearable anguish. "DAMN IT DAMN IT, DAMN IT!" He yelled, punching the ground as hard as he could.

Nuju slowly got to his feet. The air around him started getting colder and frost started to form where his feet touched the ground as he felt the ice cold rage surging through his body. He caressed Gali's cheek, leaving frost on her mask. "I'm sorry, Gali…" Nuju then turned away, not being able to bear seeing Gali in that state.

He then realized what he had to do. "They can't have gotten far." Nuju set the attachment on his mask to thermal and he immediately spotted the Vahki scaling the side of the canyon. He then went after them.

&&&&&&&&

The Vahki marched along the edge of the canyon, heading in the direction of where the other Toa were. The edge was not bare, but littered with boulders and buildings. However, erosion had made them too unstable to inhabit, so the buildings and what's left of them were long since abandoned.

"We should be able to take the other Toa by surprise from up here. Despite how strong Nidhiki and Vorak are, I don't think they can take on ten Toa." Nuurakh said, walking in front of the line.

"Do you think that Turaga Dume will be mad that we killed the water Nuva?" Bordakh asked. "Nah," Zadakh said, "What's one Toa gone?"

"True," Bordakh said, "But perhaps we should have taken Nuju." Bordakh pointed out. "Good idea," said Nuurakh, "Let's go get him."

The three of them jumped off the canyon and ran to where they Krekka's unconscious body lay; knowing that Nuju's was nearby.

&&&&&&&&

"This doesn't make any sense." Zadakh said in alarm. "He was right here." All they could see was the imprint in the rock that was left behind when Nuju hit the ground.

"It's so strange," Nuurakh said, "There's no sign of him…"

"Here's a sign!" Nuju yelled, plunging one of his crystal spikes into Nuurakh's head. The Vahki dropped his weapons, and fell forward, dead. Nuju stepped forward and pulled his weapon out of the Vahki's head. "So," Nuju said, looking at the other two, "Who's next?"

The air was chilled beyond reality, making the Vahki shiver. The ground under Nuju's very feet was freezing with ice and spreading outwards.

Zadakh growled, "You bastard!" He ran at Nuju, ready to swing his staff. Nuju blasted him into a wall with a powerful telekinetic attack. Bordakh was so scared that he didn't even notice that the ice that was freezing the ground had just frozen his feet as well.

Nuju started to walk towards the water Vahki. "D-don't come any closer!" He yelled at Nuju fearfully. Something about his eyes projected a haunting image. That no matter what Bordakh did, he was going to die. Nuju rushed forward quickly, making Bordakh cower in fear. The Vahki moved its arms away from its face and looked up at Nuju. He was staring right down at him.

"Do you fear me, Vahki? Do I strike fear in your very soul?" Nuju asked coldly. Bordakh nodded slightly. Nuju pulled him up into a standing position. "It doesn't feel good does it? To be trapped against your will, at the mercy of someone else! You picked the wrong Toa to mess with! I'm sure Gali's death was painful. But I bet she never cowered like you. It just goes to show how the so called mighty have fallen doesn't it? I hope you enjoy feeling every molecule in you body freeze."

"No, please!" Bordakh begged. Nuju grasped Bordakh's head, and slowly starting freezing it and everything else. Bordakh let out a gasping cry before the ice consumed his entire body. Nuju then thrust his fist into Bordakh, shattering the Vahki into tiny pieces.

Nuju then turned to Zadakh, who was lying on the ground where he had landed, staring up in shock. Nuju lifted him into the air and levitated Zadakh before himself. Without even a word Nuju used his mask to slowly crushed Zadakh. He let the Vahki fall, flattened and smashed into almost nothing.

&&&&&&&&

_Present time…_

All the Toa looked stunned from the news. The Toa Nuva were all rendered speechless over the loss of their sister.

"Nuju…I'm so sorry." Nokama said, stepping beside Whenua. Nokama examined the blood on Nuju's body. "That's not all yours is it?" She asked. "No…" Nuju replied. "I slaughtered all of them. They got what they deserved, and I enjoyed it."

"Why would you kill them? Toa are not killers!" Vakama said angrily. "I don't care." Nuju said. "Not anymore."

Nuju's eyes suddenly trailed to Ehrye's body. Nuju looked up at everyone. He started to become so enraged that his whole body started shaking. "You let him die too!" Nuju turned around angrily and started walking away.

"Nuju wait!" Vakama yelled at him, grabbing his shoulder. Nuju pushed him away. "Why are you going?" Vakama asked.

"It's all your faults; each and every one of you. Because of you all I lost my best friend and the one person I loved more than anything else in the world. I hate all of you!" Nuju shouted angrily.

"But, Nuju…" Onewa said, stepping forward. Nuju turned around aggressively. "If any of you even think of following me, I'll kill you myself!"

Nuju made his way up a path on the canyon, not looking back at the Legion of Toa. They were left in their own world of sadness and sorrow, wondering if they will ever see Nuju again. Whenua started to wonder if he would act the same should he ever be in Nuju's situation.

As Nuju reached the top and looked down upon the Legion, the sun cast his shadow over them, covering them in darkness.

Author's Notes: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. There is a picture of elite Rorzakh now on my Brickshelf gallery. If you want to see it, click the homepage link in my profile.


	28. Chapter 28: A Gut Feeling

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 28: A Gut Feeling

Kopaka stood on top of the ledge of the canyon. His face was emotionless and cold; like it usually was. While on the outside he is as stiff as ice itself, inside is a raging river of thought. The grief among all the Toa Nuva was immense, but their injuries and fatigue made it hard to resist sleeps welcome arms.

While Kopaka was just as affected by Gali's death as his brothers, and just as injured; he could not sleep. "What's keeping you up?" A voice said from behind him. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, Whenua." Kopaka said.

"Right," Whenua said, "So what stops you from sleeping then? All your brothers share your grief, and yet you are the only one awake."

Kopaka sighed, "Why do you keep asking me questions that are no business of yours? But what keeps you awake, besides your unknown need to bother me?"

Whenua stood next to Kopaka, "Gali was an amazing Toa. She seemed to always be concerned for others; even when she was unsure if they were an enemy. She had an aura of warmth and caring that always seemed to surround her." Whenua said, smiling in reminiscence.

Kopaka looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "What, were you in love with her or something?" He asked. "No, I'm not in love with her," Whenua answered. "But in the time I knew her, she became one of the closest friends I've ever had."

Kopaka looked back out into the distance. "…Thanks…" Kopaka said. "But why are you really here?"

"I wanted to know who has the Bulla Berries. And since you're the only other one awake I figured I'd ask you." Whenua explained. Kopaka gave Whenua a slightly puzzled looked, "What do you want the Bulla Berries for?" Kopaka asked.

"I'm not sure," Whenua started, "but I've got a strange feeling in my gut that keeps telling me to find Gali. Perhaps something is telling me to put her body to rest. I'm not sure." Kopaka looked at him with eager impatience. "But what do you need the _Bulla Berries_ for?" He asked more insistently.

"Not sure yet," Whenua said. "But I feel that I need to bring them. Just in case." Kopaka looked at Whenua expectantly. "In case of what!"

"In case Gali is alive…she'll need those." Whenua said. Kopaka sighed and looked back into the distance. "You heard Nuju. She's dead. Do you honestly believe he would be mistaken? …Anyways, I think Nokama has them." Whenua started to walk away. "Thanks," He said. "You not coming?"

"No," Kopaka said, "I don't think I can bear seeing her like that. But please find her."

&&&&&&&&

Nokama lay next to Onua; her arm rapped around his torso. She was fast asleep and felt secure in Onua's embrace. She was suddenly awoken by a slight push. She rolled over and opened her eyes; trying to adjust to what little light was there. "Comfortable?" Whenua asked sarcastically.

"Whenua? What do you want?" She asked groggily. "I need the Bulla Berries." Whenua said. Nokama handed him the bag. "What do you need them for anyways?" She asked curiously. "Never mind," Whenua said, "Just get some sleep. I'm sorry to have bothered you." Whenua turned around and started to walk away.

"Are you going to find Gali?" Nokama asked. Whenua stopped. "Yes…I need to be sure that she's dead." Whenua explained. "But Nuju said she was dead. You know how much he loved her. He would be sure before getting so angry like that. So what is your motive then?"

"A gut feeling. That's it." Whenua said. "I'm coming too then." Nokama insisted. "If she is alive, I might be able to help you find her." Nokama started to get up. "I'll go alone." Whenua said. "I think I can manage on my own. Besides, you need to save your strength." Nokama lay back down. "Ok…if you're sure." She said; feeling a little left out.

Whenua then left the area, in search of Gali.

&&&&&&&&

Whenua walked inside the lonely valley of the canyon. Thankfully, his Great Ruru provided him the means to see perfectly. He had previously passed the area that he assumed Gali and Nuju had done battle with Krekka; considering there was a huge dent in the ground. Not to mention the slaughtered remains of the three Vahki. Nuju really did a number on them.

Whenua was filled with dread, almost certain of what he was about to witness. He started to reconsider telling Nokama not to come. However, he did not want more on her plate than there already was. He could tell she felt guilty about it. Especially considering how Nuju acted. He almost started blaming Nokama before Whenua had stepped in. But Nokama is not stupid.

"_It's all your faults; each and every one of you. Because of you all I lost my best friend and the one person I loved more than anything else in the world. I hate all of you!" _

"We're all to blame I guess." Whenua said, resting his hand behind his head as he walked. "If only I had thought to have done something…maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. I just hope Gali's alive…"

Whenua thought of Nokama lying with Onua. She looked to peaceful and happy…even in such bad times. "Maybe I should have brought her with me…some time alone with her would've been nice."

"_Just don't isolate yourself and things will work out for you…" _He remembered Gali saying. "Damn it!" Whenua yelled in realization. He heard his shout echo on almost forever.

"_If you care for her so much, then why do you push her away…?"_ Whenua stopped, eyes widened in surprise. "Who the hell just said that?" He wondered aloud. He pulled out his Earth-Shock drills and looked around the valley and canyon for the ominous voice.

"It's not echoing… Then does that mean….that I just heard that in my head?" Whenua wondered. Whenua put his weapons away and suspiciously looked around one last time, before continuing on.

&&&&&&&&

Whenua reached the edge of a crater, and he looked inside. Somebody was at the bottom. Whenua slid down the sandy edge of the crater, until he made it to the bottom. He approached Gali's body and fell to his knees in front of her. Whenua hung his head in grief and sorrow, sighing deeply. "It's a good thing those Vahki ran into Nuju before I found out…" Whenua said angrily. "I would've taken my time with those monsters…"

Whenua put his hand under Gali's chin and lifted her head. His face cringed with sadness at the site of her expression. Whenua caressed her cheek and his hand slid down her neck. Whenua closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt something pulsate, then again shortly after, etc. His eyes widened. "Wait a minute… She has a pulse!" Whenua thought with excitement.

Whenua could feel his heart pounding like a drum. As Whenua listened more intently he realized that Gali was breathing, but very slightly; so slightly that when Nuju was overcome with grief and anger he must not have noticed it.

Whenua quickly got up and broke the chains that held her to the boulder with one of his Earth-Shock drills. Gali fell forward but Whenua managed to catch her. Whenua knelt; holding Gali in his arms. He reached into the small bag he carried with him and pulled out a Bulla Berry. Whenua crushed the berry; squeezing the juices into her mouth and rubbing her throat to help her swallow it.

Whenua held her close and stared at her, eagerly waiting for a reaction. Slowly Gali stirred, and opened her eyes. It was too dark, but she could Whenua's dark green eyes. Whenua smiled, "Are you okay?" He asked. "Whenua…is that you?" Gali asked weakly. "Yeah it's me. Are you okay?" He asked again.

"I think so," Gali said. "How is Nuju?" Whenua hesitated for a moment. "He's fine." He answered.

"It's just like when we first met…except you were where I am." Gali said, smiling faintly." She stirred uncomfortably. "I'm having trouble moving." Gali said. "Well you've lost quite a bit of blood." Whenua replied. "The Bulla Berry I gave you seems to have already sped up your healing, and given you some strength, but you need to rest. Don't worry I'll carry you back." Whenua said kindly.

Whenua grabbed Gali's Aqua Axes and rested them on her. He stood up, holding Gali in his arms. She was asleep almost immediately. Whenua then made his way back.

&&&&&&&&

The sun was slowly starting to rise. Nokama sat a rock nearby Onua, waiting for Whenua to return. "I wonder why he didn't want me to come along. It's so odd of him. I thought we were really good friends, and I don't remember us getting into any arguments. He even stood up for me when Nuju…"

Nokama then remembered the other day. "What had made Nuju so enraged with us? Though I guess it was kind of my fault." Nokama started to feel guilty again. "Nuju will come back though…he's probably just really upset about everything. But doesn't he realize that he's not the only person who cares about Gali." Nokama sighed deeply.

Suddenly her attention turned towards the horizon. Someone was walking towards them in the rising sun, and was carrying someone in their arms. As they approached Nokama sat up straight; realizing that it was Whenua and he was carrying Gali.

Nokama became tearful as she sensed two minds in the group. "Everybody," Nokama yelled, "Gali's alive!" Everyone in the Legion of Toa woke up with a start. They ran to where Nokama stood and watched in expectant surprise as Whenua walked towards them. Whenua had a big smile on his face. Gali woke up and managed to smile at her brothers and comrades, before falling back asleep.

&&&&&&&&

Gali lay resting as the rest of the Legion of Toa all gathered to discuss the situation at hand. Vhisola was tending to Gali. Onua was now awake and it had been explained to him what happened. "It is incredibly fortunate that Gali managed to survive." Tahu said gratefully, "Had it not been for you, Whenua, she would most certainly have died. I extend my deepest thank you."

"Don't mention it, Tahu." Whenua replied. "I'm just happy Gali's alive. But what are we gonna do about Nuju?"

"Well where do you think he would go?" Tahu asked, looking at the Toa Metru. They all considered where he might go. "He could've gone to the Knowledge Towers, perhaps to clear his head." Onewa suggested.

"I'm not so sure, Onewa." Vakama said. "He was very mad. It would take more than just trying to clear his head to satisfy that level of anger."

"Maybe he killed himself." Matau said. Vakama shook his head. "Let's not jump to conclusions like that. Nuju's not that stupid." Suddenly, Vakama's eyes widened in realization.

"What is it, Vakama?" Nokama asked. Whenua suddenly realized the same thing as Vakama did. "You don't think…?" Whenua asked Vakama. Vakama nodded his head. Whenua crossed his arms and groaned in frustration.

"Well what is it!" Matau asked impatiently. "Yeah spit it out!" Lewa added.

"It is a strong possibility that…" Vakama started. All the other Toa except Whenua stared at Vakama expectantly. "…that Nuju went to the Coliseum…"


	29. Chapter 29: The Wind Dies Down

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 29: The Wind Dies Down

"What! Why would he go to the Coliseum?" Pohatu asked. Vakama sighed. "Probably because he wants to get revenge on Dume as well."

"That's insane though!" Matau said. "I'd be surprised if anybody could stand up to the arsenal of power that Dume has backing him up."

"Then we should help him shouldn't we?" Pohatu said. "If we let him go alone he could die."

"Are you nuts!" Matau shouted. "That's suicidal!" Whenua frowned at Matau. "Aren't you the one always talking about how great of a hero you are?"

"Well sure. But even a great hero like me has his limits!" Matau said defensively. "We're talking about: Nidhiki, Vorak, Krekka, and an army of Vahki!"

"We don't have to fight all of them, Matau." Nokama said with assurance. "All we need to do is find Nuju and leave. We might be able to find Nuju before we even get to the Coliseum."

Matau hung his head. "…Fine. Let's go then…"

"Okay we're all going then," Tahu said. "The Matoran will stay behind and look after Gali, but we need someone else to stay in case of trouble. Who's gonna stay behind?" Tahu asked. "I'll stay behind." Onua volunteered.

"What's the matter, Onua? Are you too afraid of a little danger?" Whenua taunted. "You keep running your mouth like that and Gali won't be the only one who's gonna need looking after." Onua retorted angrily.

"Should we do anything?" Onewa asked Vakama. "Only if it gets ugly," Vakama answered. "If they don't let the anger out now, it'll linger for a while."

"Not my fault you're a coward." Whenua responded angrily. Onua started to walk up to Whenua angrily. Whenua stood his ground. Without any warning Onua kicked Whenua in the stomach; knocking the wind out of him and sending him to his knees. Onua then kicked Whenua in the face, knocking him onto his back. "You're lucky that that's all I'm gonna do!" Onua taunted, turning around and walking away to where Gali was.

Whenua stirred and coughed on the ground. The other Toa started to leave the area, but Nokama stayed behind. She held out her hand and helped Whenua up. "Are you alright?" Nokama asked. "Yeah…I'll been fine." Whenua answered.

Nokama slapped him across the face. "Arrgh! What was that for!" Whenua asked angrily, holding his cheek. "What kind of nerve do you have starting fights like that! He's our friend, Whenua!" Nokama shouted angrily. "He's no friend of mine." Whenua responded.

"Well that's a little obvious! What have you got against Onua huh? If it were anyone else you wouldn't have said anything!" Nokama argued. Whenua remained silent, just staring at Nokama. "Well?" She asked impatiently. Whenua's face became furious. "Why don't you just SHUT UP! It's my business who I like and dislike! How does this even involve you anyway!" Whenua shouted angrily. Whenua walked away, not saying another word.

Nokama stood there feeling hurt. "You, okay?" A voice asked her, causing her to flinch in surprise. She turned around to see Onua standing there. "Are you okay?" Onua repeated. "Yeah, I guess…" Nokama said, hanging her head. "What was that all about?" Onua asked. "Oh, nothing…" Nokama said, "Whenua's just a jerk that's all." Onua chuckled, "Well I can't argue with that. You'd better go with everyone else though, otherwise you're gonna lose them." Onua turned back around to go back to Gali and the three Matoran.

"Hey, Onua…" Nokama said, blushing. Onua turned around and was caught off guard with a kiss. Nokama pulled away, a light blue blush on her face. "Thanks." She said with a smile before following after the others. Onua smiled as he watched her run off into the distance.

&&&&&&&&

The Legion of Toa were out of the canyon and making there way through Po-Metru; being careful not to get noticed by any Matoran or patrolling Vahki. They all hid behind a building while Vakama used his Huna to scout ahead on the ground and while Matau used his swords as wings to scout in the air. Nokama finally met up with the group.

"Where were you?" Whenua asked. "What business is that of yours?" Nokama scorned. Vakama suddenly appeared before the group as Matau landed. "There's clear path through a few allies that way." Vakama told them, pointing in the direction. "You'll have to follow me."

"I'll use my mask to make us all look like Matoran." Matau said, using his mask of Illusions. The Legion of Toa then continued their way through Po-Metru.

&&&&&&&&

All ten Toa reached the foot of the steps of the Coliseum. They looked back and forth, "Okay, Matau. Remove the illusion." Vakama said. Matau lifted the illusion and they all appeared as their normal selves again.

Slowly, they all walked up the steps and through the main gate. "That's odd." Onewa said. "There's usually lots of Matoran in here."

Suddenly, the front gates all slammed shut, and dozens of Vahki swarmed out of different corridors and surrounded them. The Toa all pulled out their weapons. "It's a trap!" Takanuva yelled.

They then heard maniacal laughter as Dume walked to the edge of a balcony above them. Vorak stood beside him. "You Toa really are foolish aren't you?" Dume said with a sinister grin. "How did you know we were coming here?" Vakama asked angrily. "Let's just say, a little bird told me. Or a really big bird I should say." Dume replied.

"What have you done with Nuju?" Nokama asked. Dume raised an eyebrow. "Last I heard of Nuju, he left your pathetic group. He never came here."

Matau looked at Nokama and frowned. "I'm never gonna let you talk me into anything ever again." He said with exasperation.

"Attack!" Dume commanded the Vahki. The Vahki all swarmed in on the Toa and the brawl began.

Whenua fought off Vahki; back to back with Onewa. He swung an Earth-Shock drill; smashing the face of one Vahki, then doing an uppercut with his other, smashing another Vahki. Onewa extended one of his Proto Pitons and it hooked onto a Vahki's shoulder. "Duck!" Onewa shouted. Whenua crouched down as Onewa swung the Vahki around; hitting away many others in the process.

As he was crouched, Whenua stuck both his fists in the ground and prepared for a double Tremor Blast. He guided the blasts in opposite directions through the ground. They both erupted in large masses of Vahki; taking out many. Whenua knew it was a very critical situation, but he couldn't help feeling the thrill of battle. He loved fighting Vahki; no matter what he did to them, he didn't feel bad.

Onewa stopped swing the Vahki and retracted his Proto Piton. Whenua got back to his feet. He started both his drills spinning. He rushed into a crowd of Vahki, swinging his drills violently. They broke their way through many Vahki, though it took straining effort to do so. He brought his drills close together, and smashed them down upon one Vahki's head; then spread them apart and outward, destroying two more.

Whenua was then knocked forward by a Bordakh hitting him in the back with the blade of its staff. Whenua struggled as Vahki started to dog-pile on top of him; stabbing and slashing as they did. "_Damn it! What do I do? If I use a Tremor Blast I might kill myself. And I can't get my weapons free!_" Whenua thought to himself.

"Wave Blast!" He heard someone shout. All the Vahki were blasted off of him. Whenua painfully got back to his feet to see that it was Nokama that had done it. "Thanks." Whenua said. Nokama did not return a comment or expression. She simply continued to fight.

Suddenly a Zadakh did a swipe kick, knocking Whenua onto his back. He quickly rolled out of the way as the Vahki drove its staff down towards him. Whenua drove one of his drills through the Vahki's head as he got back up. Whenua panted tiredly, "This is a lot harder than it looks." He said. Just then he noticed that all the Vahki around him had backed away, even though they were fighting the other Toa. "Huh?" Whenua said in confusion.

Vorak landed next to Whenua with a crash. "Oh, great." Whenua said sarcastically. Vorak outstretched his claw and lifted Whenua with telekinesis. Vorak began smashing Whenua back and forth into the ground. Vorak flung him up into the ceiling, then back down to the floor. Vorak then lifted up on of his legs and stomped it down towards Whenua. Whenua tried to roll out of the way, but his left arm got trapped under its crushing force.

"Arrrrrrgh!" Whenua yelled it pain. Suddenly Vorak stepped back as Onewa's Proto Pitons hooked onto each of his shoulders and pulled him back. "Hurry, and attack him now!" Onewa yelled, straining to hold the Shadow Rahkshi back. Whenua got up slowly, cringing with pain. "Damn it," Whenua said in pain. "I can't move my arm."

"Hurry up, Whenua!" Onewa yelled. Whenua snapped to attention and forgot about his smashed up, bleeding arm. Whenua swung his right Earth-Shock drill at Vorak; hitting him in the chest then face. Vorak struggled angrily. Whenua jumped and kneed him in the face, then kicked him in the chest with both feet as he fell to the ground. The attack sent Vorak down to the ground.

Onewa retracted his Proto Pitons. "Nice moves." He said, giving Whenua a thumbs up. Onewa then turned his attention back to the battle at hand. Whenua held his arm again; which was bleeding a lot. He fell to his knees; the pain starting to overcome him.

Vorak started to get back up. "Damn…" Whenua said with frustration. "But I've got to try. I'm not just going to let myself get smacked around again!" Whenua yelled valiantly. He ran at Vorak and gave him a hard body-check with his right shoulder. Vorak stumbled backwards from the impact. Whenua then crouched, and did a sweeping kick at Vorak's feet; knocking back to the ground. Whenua got to his feet and started driving his Earth-Shock drill into Vorak's chest.

"You may be a lot stronger. But you're a hell of a lot dumber!" Whenua yelled, his weapon slowly drilling into Vorak. Vorak thrust his claw upward at Whenua, latching it onto Whenua's chest.

Vorak got back to his feet; still holding up Whenua with his claw. The claws dug into Whenua's chest, to the point where it bled. Whenua dropped his Earth-Shock drill and grasped the claw; trying desperately to pry it off. His hand burned from trying to grab one of the green talons.

Suddenly, with tremendous voltage, electricity came out of the claw and surged through Whenua's body. "Gaaaaaaaah!" He screamed in pain as every inch of his body felt the horrid pain of being electrified.

Onewa looked over the crowd of Vahki and saw Whenua's elevated body, writhing and screaming in pain. "Oh no, Whenua!" He shouted, trying to force his way through the crowd of Vahki. However, he was overtaken by the large mass of Vahki.

The pain was tremendous; like all the pain he felt while being tortured was compacted together, and used against him. Soon Whenua stopped shouting in pain, and fell limp as the energy continued to shock him and make his body twitch.

Vorak stopped the electricity from flowing through Whenua's body. Whenua hung there motionless. Vorak tossed him against a wall and immediately fired a Kanoka blast at him. Whenua hit the wall and then the Kanoka hit him. Fortunately, the shot was a little off, hitting Whenua in his injured arm and blowing it off, instead of hitting Whenua in the face or torso.

Whenua hit the floor, still not moving a muscle.

The numbers of Vahki were starting to diminish. Vakama, Nokama and Kopaka were all next to each other; fighting off Vahki. Kopaka spun his sword; slashing many Vahki's limbs off. He stabbed one end forward, plunging it into the face of a Vorzakh, and then freezing it.

Nokama slashed with her weapons, and then crossed them; performing a few more Wave Blasts. Suddenly her head began to throb with pain; so much to the point that she dropped her weapons and fell to her knees grasping her head. Vakama blasted a few more Vahki away with his launcher and then crouched down to try and aid Nokama.

"What's wrong?" Vakama asked. "I…don't know." Nokama said, her head throbbing with pain. "I sense horrible feelings….someone is about to do something horrible!" Nokama cringed in immense pain. "Who? Who is?" Vakama asked anxiously. "I don't know!" She yelled, becoming tearful.

Suddenly, Nokama pointed in a direction, though she did not look. Vakama stood up and looked. There were not nearly as many Vahki as there were before; there were maybe twenty left in the room. He saw where Nokama was pointing; she was pointing directly at Matau. Matau just finished doing a cross-slice with his swords on a Vahki's head, before continuing to fight.

"But Matau isn't doing anything wrong." Vakama said with puzzlement. He saw Matau turn around. He had the same, heroic and thrilled expression he always had when he was in a battle. Just then, something caught Vakama's eye on a ledge just above Matau. Nuju stood above him, looking directly down at him. Vakama immediately felt horror, instead of relief in seeing his comrade.

Nuju held both his Crystal Spikes in his hand, but there was also something much more different about him. Nuju had black spikes sticking out of his arms and legs. What disturbed Vakama the most however, was the look in Nuju's eyes; that of pure hatred.

Nuju jumped off the ledge, falling directly above Matau, and pulled his weapon back behind his head. Adrenaline flowed through Vakama's body at that instant, and he rushed towards Matau. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion "MATAU!" Vakama yelled desperately. Matau turned to him, unaware of the attack coming from above. "NUJU DON'T!" Vakama yelled.

The Crystal Spike smashed into the less protected back of Matau's head. Blood gushed into the air on impact. Nuju landed in a crouched position behind Matau. Matau's eyes went from bright red, to black and dead as he fell to his knees and then to the floor. Vakama skidded to a halt. "No…. NO! Matau! MATAU!"


	30. Chapter 30: The Shadow Revealed

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 30: The Shadow Revealed

Vakama looked at Matau's lifeless body, stunned with disbelief. What had driven Nuju to this? "What have you done, Nuju?" Vakama asked. Vakama observed the black spikes sticking out of Nuju's arms and legs. Something had happened to him, there's no way Gali's 'death' drove him to this.

"How does it feel, 'brother'?" Nuju asked. "How does it feel to know that your own friend is responsible for another friend's death, hmm? Welcome to my world!" Nuju ran at Vakama and hit him across the face with a Crystal Spike, and then kicked him in the chest; sending Vakama to the ground. Nuju then landed his knee on the side of Vakama's head; knocking him unconscious. "However, my business here does not concern you." Nuju said, looking up at Dume.

Nuju used his telekinesis to levitate himself up to the ledge that Dume stood on. "Someone wants a word with you, Dume." Nuju said fiendishly. Dume stepped back fearfully. "That's an impressive transformation." Dume said. "Why don't you join me?" Nuju started laughing. "Me? Join you? You're crazier than you look, Turaga." Nuju said contemptuously. "I serve a new master now; the one who gave me this great power!"

Suddenly, Vorak tackled Nuju out of the air; saving Dume. "Where the hell are Nidhiki and Krekka?" Dume wondered to himself in frustration.

As the numbers of Vahki started to diminish, more and more of the Toa started to realize what had happened to Matau. They all stood there speechless and confused; stunned by Nuju's actions. Nokama and gone to help Vakama. "What should we do?" Pohatu asked Tahu. Tahu sighed deeply, "I don't know. Nuju killed Matau, but he's not attacking us anymore. Perhaps we should try and talk him out of it when this is all over. I just don't know…" Tahu said with exasperation.

Onewa crouched next to Whenua. "Whenua? Are you alive?" He asked with concern. Whenua coughed out blood, and then slowly started to try and get up. "What do you think you're doing?" Onewa asked. Whenua looked at him. "Give me a Bulla Berry." Whenua said.

Onewa widened his eyes in surprise, "Are you insane? You're in no condition to fight!" Onewa said, trying to convince him. "I said: Give me a damn Bulla Berry!" Whenua said more insistently. "You're not thinking of fighting again are you?" Onewa asked. Whenua looked at Onewa insistently.

"What about everything you promised yourself in the cell? 'Live to fight another day', and stuff huh?" Whenua looked at Onewa with a cross expression. "Forget what I said in the cell! They were empty promises that I made to myself under extreme circumstances!" Whenua yelled through his pain. "But aren't those guidelines necessary in order to survive?" Onewa asked.

"Sure," Whenua responded, "Of course they are. One thing I said was; 'if I know in my heart I can't win then try to run and live to fight another day', but I knew full well that I couldn't beat Vorak. There are much more important things to me than living, Onewa. I've already lost one of them and now all I've got left is my pride and my honour and I'm not going to give them up for anything! I don't care if you consider those feelings to be foolish, because I'd rather be a fool than a coward!" Whenua said passionately.

Onewa chuckled. "You are a living contradiction, you know that? But I'm not going to try and stop you." Onewa handed him a Bulla Berry. As Whenua chewed it he felt the pain start to recede. Whenua then started groaning in pain as he quickly regenerated his left arm. "Wow, you've got a lot of energy left." Onewa said in surprise.

As Onewa helped Whenua to his feet, someone smashed through the gate of the Coliseum; catching the attention of everyone, including Vorak, Nuju and Dume. They all watched eagerly and confused as the dust settled. When the dust cleared, standing there was Panrahk. The Toa all stood there in wide-eyed surprise. Panrahk looked back and forth at all the Toa. "Out of my way, Toa." Panrahk said dismissively. He then started stomping forward. "I have a score to settle." He continued.

Takanuva stepped in Panrahk's path, examining him closely. Panrahk stopped and looked at Takanuva. "I'm not here to settle my score with you, Takanuva. I'm saving that for a more appropriate time." Panrahk said to him. Takanuva looked confused. "Who are you really?" Takanuva asked. All the other Toa were just as confused as Takanuva was.

"Don't you recognize my voice, Takanuva? I bet you don't recognize me but you should recognize my voice…" Panrahk said, with a fiendish smile. "Allow me to help you remember." Panrahk said.

Panrahk tensed up his body and groaned in pain as he body started to change. His arms and legs formed more armour; two disk-like spikes came out of his back, along with two more large spikes. Another single talon grew out of his other hand. Then his face started to morph and deform. The Toa Nuva all looked in shock and horror as Panrahk's face morphed into an extremely recognizable shape.

"Y-you! But how?" Takanuva yelled in surprise. "That's right, Takanuva! That's right!" Panrahk yelled. Panrahk's face had morphed into the Kanohi Kraakhan; the Mask of Shadows. "I am not the mindless monster Panrahk. I am the Master of Shadows, Makuta!"

"I defeated you once before! And I can do it again!" Takanuva yelled, running at Makuta. Takanuva pulled his spear behind his head and slashed it at Makuta. Makuta stopped the blade with the two large claws on his right hand. Takanuva leapt backwards, and swiped his spear; creating a wave of light energy. The blast hit Makuta and dispersed on contact; delivering no damage. "What!" Takanuva yelled in surprise.

Makuta started laughing. "Thanks to my new body, which is infused with the element of stone, light barely even fazes me. However, I still retain all of my infinite power!" Takanuva groaned angrily. He then struck the ground with his spear and started building up energy inside of it. "I defeated you with this last time! And it will do it again!" Takanuva yelled. The light energy swirled and slowly built up inside Takanuva's spear, until the spear was glowing brilliantly with energy. Takanuva pulled his spear behind his head. "FINAL FLASH!" He yelled, swinging his spear downward.

The enormous blast struck Makuta, creating a bright flash. As the flash receded Takanuva was stunned to see Makuta standing there. He had merely used his hand to stop the blast that had once killed him. "Are we finished now, Takanuva?" Makuta asked tauntingly. Takanuva dropped to his knees in defeat and stared blankly at the floor; struck with disbelief. Makuta simply walked past him.

Makuta suddenly stopped. "I suggest you leave while you can, Toa. Take care of you wounded with what time you have. Otherwise when I'm finished with my business here I may be inclined to go after you all next." Makuta told them, not turning around.

The Legion of Toa all stood there silently, but then finally grabbed Matau and Vakama and left. Makuta looked over at Vorak and Nuju, who were fighting once more. "Leave Vorak alone." Makuta ordered Nuju. "Go get Dume and bring him to me."

Nuju nodded reluctantly, and went after Dume, who had run a while ago. Makuta brought Vorak forward; levitating him in the air. Makuta carefully examined him, "What has Dume done to you my son?" Makuta energized the tip of his claw with shadow energy, and tapped the top of Vorak's head; destroying the chip inside of it.

He let Vorak drop to his feet. Vorak had a look of disorientation and confusion. Vorak then snapped back into realization and look up at Makuta. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I am the one who created you. In a sense I am your father. You were created for the purpose bringing me back, in the event that I may die. You have done better than I had ever anticipated." Makuta explained, with a proud smile.

"But I never did anything." Vorak responded. Makuta shook his head. "You did exactly what you were supposed to do. I'll explain later. Right now we have business with Turaga Dume." Makuta said.

Vorak thought about everything for a second. "Alright then 'father', I shall live to serve only you." Vorak said, kneeling before Makuta. "Rise my son," Makuta said. "You are far more than just a mere pawn." Vorak rose, and examined his arms. "How the hell did I get these?"

"They were given to you by Dume. Do what you wish with them." Makuta said. Vorak tensed his body and slowly and painfully absorbed both arms into his body, and then grew back his previously clawed arm on the left and the robotic clawed arm on his right. "I like this one." Vorak said with a grin.

Suddenly their attention was turned to the balcony. Stand there was Nuju; holding Dume by the shoulders with both hands. On Nuju's left and right were Nidhiki and Krekka; both trapped in powerful telekinetic barriers. Nuju jumped down to where Makuta and Vorak stood. "What's he doing here?" Vorak scoffed. Makuta chuckled. "He is out new Ex-Toa. Say hello to Shadow Nuju." Nuju grinned arrogantly in response.

Makuta then looked at Dume; who was struggling to get free. "You are pesky little vermin aren't you?" Makuta said contemptuously. "And like all vermin, you should be properly disposed of."

Dume smiled at Makuta defiantly. "You haven't seen the last of me, Makuta. Mark my words you haven't seen the last of me!" Makuta looked down at Dume angrily, and plunged his two large claws through his chest. Dume coughed up blood as Makuta lifted him into the air; still impaled on his claws. Makuta then swung his arm; tossing the Turaga off the claws and smashing into a wall.

"Now, what about you two?" Makuta said, looking at Nidhiki and Krekka. Nidhiki closed his eyes in consideration. "Since we no longer work for the Shadowed One and Dume is now dead, we have no choice but to join with you. We now live to serve you." Nidhiki said.

"Good," Makuta replied. "Believe me when I say this: You made the right decision." Nuju released them of their telekinetic prisons. Just then, two robotic Nuurakh came and grabbed Dume's corpse and left with it out the gate. "Where are they taking his body?" Vorak asked.

"They are taking the body to Dume's tomb, which is located in Po-Metru. For some reason he had insisted on it being built." Nidhiki explained.

"It doesn't matter." Makuta said. "Turaga Dume's death marks the dawn of a new era of destruction in Metru Nui. With him gone, his army of Vahki is at my disposal. And when the Bahrag arrive, the Bohrok shall be added to that army. Our numbers shall be gargantuan! The denizens of Metru Nui will have no choice but to surrender or die! Not even this 'Legion of Toa' will stand in our way!" They then made their way further into the Coliseum, to claim their new fortress.

Author's Notes: There will be a picture of Vorak's new form shortly on my Brickshelf account. Remember, to access it just click the homepage link in my profile. Unfortunately, I still don't have a picture of 'Monster Panrahk' or Makuta's new form, but I will try and get one as soon as I can.


	31. Chapter 31: In the Midst of the Storm

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 31: In the Midst of the Storm

Several hours later and the Legion of Toa now reside inside the small residence that belonged to Nokama in the middle of Ga-Metru. They had gone and retrieved Onua, Gali, Tehutti, Vhisola and Orkham before heading there. Matau and Vakama lay on the floor. Vakama had still not regained his consciousness. Most of the other Toa sat on the ground silently, staring at Matau's corpse. Takanuva leaned against the edge of a window, staring outside. Whenua was not in the room. None of them had said a word since they left the Coliseum.

The feelings of sorrow struck them all in very different ways. The Toa Metru all felt a deep rooted grief that rotted in the pit of their stomachs. The Toa Nuva were under the affect of the infectious sorrow that polluted the air. Even though they were not as close to Matau as everyone else, they shared the sorrow that the others were feeling.

Slowly the silence started to lift as a heavy downpour of rain started to fall outside. Vakama stirred, and then awoke to the sight of his fallen brother beside him, sending a knife of grief through him once more. He sat up to the site of the saddened faces of his comrades. "Damn it!" Vakama said with anguish. "Put a blanket over Matau!"

Takanuva turned away from the window and put a sheet, which he found in a closet, over Matau's body. He then looked at Vakama, "There are a few things you missed that I think you should know…" He said.

&&&&&&&&

The cool rain continued to mercilessly pour down upon all the buildings as far as anyone could see. Atop the building that the Legion of Toa resided in stood Whenua, who separating himself from the others. He stood near the edge of the building, his head facing upwards and his eyes closed, letting the rain wash over his mask.

Whenua sighed deeply, "Damn it, Nuju…" He mumbled under his breath. He then heard the slow, splashing steps of someone behind him. He however did not move or open his eyes. "Since when do earth Toa like rain?" He heard Gali ask. Whenua opened his eyes and turned around and looked at her. She had a faint smile but her eyes were dim and sad. "It helps me think…" Whenua responded, turning back around and crossing his arms.

Gali slowly walked over and stood beside him. After a long pause she looked up at him. "Did Nuju…really do what they said he did?" She asked. Whenua looked down into her eyes; though the rain hid most of it, he could tell that she was crying. "Yes…he murdered Matau." Whenua said bluntly.

Gali began to cry, and grabbed Whenua by the shoulders. "You're lying! Nuju would never do that! Please tell me you're lying! It must be some kind of mistake!" She yelled, shaking Whenua violently. Whenua had a hard, blank expression as he stared down at her. "I'm sorry, Gali… I'm very, very sorry… But Nuju is a Piraka now…" He said sadly.

"Shut up!" Gali yelled. "You're wrong!" Whenua pushed away Gali's arms. She stared at Whenua with a shocked, tearful expression. "Can you really be so blind?" Whenua yelled angrily as a flash of lightning appeared. "Forget what you believe in your heart! You may believe inside that there is no way that Nuju could have done this, but you have to realize what you see with your own two eyes! Didn't you see his body? Matau is dead, and we all saw Nuju do it! I'm sorry Gali, but you're just gonna have to except that!"

Gali began to cry harder as she hugged Whenua tightly. He could feel her tears running onto him. "Why would he do that though? I…I loved him… Why would he go and do that?" Gali said tearfully. Whenua rubbed her back, and held her tight to try and comfort her. "I don't know… But we need to find a way to get them back… Matau _and_ Nuju…" Whenua said. His eyes suddenly widened, "_What if…_"

&&&&&&&&

Even at the centre of the city, the Coliseum, it down poured unendingly. High atop on a balcony stood Vorak, overlooking the vast city. He was using his telekinesis to shield himself from the downpour. He knew so little… why should he trust Makuta? Such thoughts ran through his mind. He had been alone all his life, never knowing of the one who created him. Now he was expected to trust this so called 'father' of his who suddenly appears out of nowhere?

Vorak suddenly heard loud footsteps as Makuta himself stepped behind him. Vorak did not bother turning around as Makuta stepped beside him. "Take a good look, Vorak." Makuta said. "It'll only be a matter of time and then it will all be ours." He said with a grin.

Vorak looked at him. "What is my purpose?" He asked Makuta. "What did I do that was so important?" Makuta turned to Vorak. "I created you to ensure my survival. Although my body was no more, my spirit kept itself hidden inside of you." Makuta explained.

"Then why is it that you are in Panrahk's body?" Vorak asked, raising an eyebrow. "When you attacked Panrahk in the jungles of Le-Wahi, that blast of energy you fired did indeed kill him. However, my spirit travelled with your energy and bonded with Panrahk's corpse." Makuta continued. "But if you were in Panrahk's body, how were you able to regain all of your power?" Vorak asked.

"That is the key point where you came in." Makuta said with a grin. "Each time you absorbed the life force of something, half of it was transferred to me, allowing my spirit to slowly take over Panrahk's body. When you were turned into a cyborg, you were fed enormous amounts of energy, which rapidly boosted my rejuvenation." Makuta explained.

Nuju suddenly interrupted them. "I have finished killing off the Matoran scientists in the lower basement…master…" Nuju said. Makuta and Vorak turned around. "Prove it to me, Nuju. Prove to me that you killed them." Makuta ordered. Nuju grinned and through down a blood stained Miru that looked as though it belonged to a Ga-Matoran. "I told you." Nuju said with an evil grin. "As long as you keep your end of the bargain, I will remain loyal." Makuta smiled, "I'm glad to hear it."

Makuta suddenly lifted his hands and drew forth blood from both Nuju and Vorak arms, causing them to cringe with pain. The blood floated above each of Makuta's hands in a ball of liquid. "Why'd you do that?" Vorak yelled in protest. "Watch and learn, Vorak" Makuta said, walking back inside of the Coliseum once more; Nuju and Vorak followed.

Makuta smashed both masses of blood into each other and a huge source of shadow energy started to manifest. The dark purple light was intense, making Nuju and Vorak shield their eyes. "With the blood of two, another life is born!" Makuta yelled.

&&&&&&&&

Whenua and Gali entered the room, turning the heads of all the other Toa. Gali was hunched over and holding herself up by putting her arm around Whenua's shoulder. She was no longer crying but had a miserable expression on her face. Whenua's face remained hard and serious as he looked at all the other Toa.

Nokama got up, "Let me help you set her down." She said, taking hold of Gali and help Whenua to lower her. Whenua looked around. "Where are Tahu, Vakama and Takanuva?" He asked.

"They're in that room." Vhisola said, pointing. "…Thanks." Whenua responded, walking towards the door. He quickly pushed open the door and slammed it shut. "Wonder what's gotten him so worked up all of a sudden." Lewa said.

Nokama let out a deep sigh of worry. "What do you think they are talking about in there?" Pohatu asked her. Nokama stared at Matau's body. "I don't know…" She responded blankly.

Nokama remembered the horrible pain she felt before it happened. Why had her telepathic abilities reacted so violently, before anything had even happened? It all confused her to no end. Was there more to her 'gift' that she thought? And how could she increase its power? She started to feel incredibly frustrated.

"Are you alright?" Onua asked put a hand on her shoulder. The door Whenua had gone through opened. "Yeah…I'm fine." Nokama responded with a smile. She suddenly looked up; Tahu, Vakama, Takanuva and Whenua were all out of the room now. Whenua was looking down at her with a bothered expression before looking to Tehutti. "Come on." Whenua said to him. "We're going."

Tehutti returned a shocked but eager expression. "Where are we going?" Tehutti asked with excitement. It had been a long time since Whenua had asked Tehutti to come along with him to do anything. "We're going to the Archives, Tehutti. Come on now." Whenua said. Tehutti got to his feet quickly and ran to Whenua's side and they both headed for the door.

Nokama then realized that this might be a chance to find out more about her 'gift'. "Wait!" She yelled. Both Whenua and Tehutti stopped, but only Tehutti turned around. "What is it, Nokama?" Tehutti asked. "I want to come as well." Nokama said insistently.

Whenua was silent for a time, while Nokama waited expectantly for an answer. "We'll go alone." Whenua said dismissively, walking out the door. Tehutti followed. Nokama ran through the door after them, slamming it behind her. "Why can't I come along?" Nokama asked feeling rejected. "I don't know why you guys are going, but I need to find some answers for myself!" Nokama yelled persistently.

Whenua turned around, a cross expression on his face. "We don't have time for your little 'side quests'! We're going to research into something that might be able to bring back Matau! And the last thing I want to do is waste time with trivial things! Why don't you just go be with Onua!" Whenua yelled.

Whenua's words struck Nokama hurtfully. "_What does Onua have to do with this…?_" Nokama stared at the ground, confused and upset. "Why…why do you hate me?" She asked.

Whenua let out a faint gasp, but then sighed deeply. "Nokama…just stay here…" Nokama was upset, but confused by the fact that she did not sense any anger within Whenua. Whenua turned around and left with Tehutti, leaving behind Nokama and the others.

Onewa stepped beside her. "Don't worry. I think Matau's death has just really gotten to him." Onewa said with assurance. "_Whenua…_" Nokama thought. "_Do you hate me?_"

As Whenua and Tehutti exited the building, Tehutti turned to him. "What was all that about Whenua? I thought that…" Whenua cut Tehutti off in mid-sentence. "I don't like being tortured, Tehutti. Let's just leave it at that."

&&&&&&&&

Whenua and Tehutti exited the chutes and were in Onu-Metru. Whenua took a deep breath, "Home sweet home." He said. Tehutti grinned, "You can say that again." Whenua suddenly lifted Tehutti onto his right shoulder. "Ah! What are you doing?" Tehutti shouted in surprise.

Whenua pointed down the deep canyon. "The Archives are down there. You know that. And I'm in no mood to walk all the way down there." Whenua said impatiently. Tehutti made a scared expression. "You don't mean we're gonna jump do you?" Tehutti asked.

"Let's go." Whenua said, jumping down the canyon. Tehutti screamed in fright as Whenua landed on a rocky hill and skid the rest of the way down. They reached the bottom and Tehutti leapt off his shoulder. "Don't ever do that again!" He yelled.

"You'll get over it." Whenua said, walking towards the Archives. Tehutti quickly followed behind. "Oh, well. At least we'll be out of the rain soon." Tehutti said.

The familiar sights and smells as they entered the Archives filled Tehutti with a sense of belonging. He felt that for the first time in a while, he was finally home. "This really takes you back, eh Whenua?" Tehutti said. "If you say so." Whenua responded blandly.

Tehutti put his hands behind his head and looked at Whenua with a raised eyebrow. "Why don't you like the Archives?" He asked him. "I never said I didn't like them." Whenua answered. "I just hated working here."

"Well then why didn't you just go work in the mines?" Tehutti asked. Whenua made a small smile. "Because then you would've been left by yourself with all the obsessed 'librarian' types. Besides, if I had left then I wouldn't have found that Toa stone, would I have?"

Slowly they made their way through the Archives, until they reached the entrance of the exhibit: The Ancient Artefacts wing. "Is what we're looking for in there?" Tehutti asked.

"Unfortunately no, but where it is said to be hidden is." Whenua answered. Tehutti hung his head and sighed. "This is gonna take us a while isn't it? What are we looking for anyway?" He asked.

"The Amana Volo stone." Whenua answered.

It was about an hour later. While they had been searching all over the vast exhibit, a question ran through Tehutti's head, one he had been meaning to ask for a long time. Whenua was currently reading through some text on a wall. "Uh…Whenua…" Tehutti said.

"What is it?" Whenua said, not taking his eyes off of what he was reading. Tehutti stared at the floor nervously. "Will you…will you train me?" Whenua flinched in surprise, turning to him with curious eyes. "But aren't you already training?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am…" Tehutti said nervously. "But it's hard to do that without someone forcing me to do it. So I need a master!" Whenua sighed and rubbed his chin. "Fine, I'll train you as soon as we get the Amana Volo stone and bring Matau back to life."

Tehutti's mask beamed with excitement. "I won't let you down, Whenua!" He shouted excitedly. "Okay, okay, calm down! We still need to learn where to find the stone." Whenua said. He felt frustrated, but could help but be glad to see Tehutti so enthused about bettering himself.

Whenua turned his attention back to the text he was reading. He was having trouble figuring it out. "_This said something about the stone…_" Whenua thought to himself. "_But it's proving harder to translate than I thought… Maybe I should have let Nokama come after all…_"

"_Why…why do you hate me?_" Nokama's words ran like a plague through his mind once more. He grasped his head in anxiety, groaning from the uncomfortable memory. Just remembering what she said was torture enough. Never had a mere statement caused him so much pain. "Why do I always complicate things…? Damn I hate myself sometimes…" He mumbled. Whenua fell forward and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.

"_Maybe I shouldn't even bother…_" He wondered. "DAMN IT!" He yelled angrily, driving his fist through the wall he was reading, destroying a section of it. He put his hand on the wall to hold himself up as he panted from his outburst. "_I could never hate you… I just let my emotions get the better of me. And what ends up happening? I make things worse. Maybe…you're better off without me…_"

Whenua suddenly looked up at the hole he made in the wall, and noticed something. "What the hell is this?" He thought out loud as he pulled a folded piece of paper out of the hole.


	32. Chapter 32: Through the Veil of Clouds

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 32: Through the Veil of Clouds

Several hours later and Whenua and Tehutti had still not returned. By now the sun had gone down and the storm had finally ended. Most of the Toa sat there sleeping. Vakama and Onewa were awake in the next room.

Vakama grumbled with frustration. "They should've been back by now!" He whispered, pacing back and forth. "It's been six hours!"

Onewa looked at him uneasily. "Calm down, calm down, they should be back soon. The Archives are huge after all. It could very well take them an extremely long time to find what they're looking for."

Vakama plopped heavily onto a chair facing the window. "I just hope nothing's happened. Things are bad enough as it is." He said, sighing heavily. Vakama stared out the window, lost in thought. "What the hell am I gonna do about Nuju?"

"What do you mean?" Onewa asked, raising an eyebrow. Vakama looked over his shoulder back at Onewa. "What do I do, when the enemy is a friend, who has done something unforgivable?" Vakama asked.

Onewa sighed. "Well, I guess it depends how you look at it. One thing you could do is avenge Matau's death by killing Nuju. However, vengeance isn't exactly the best path to take. What you probably should do, is confront Nuju and try and convince him to join us again. In fact, if you told him that Gali is alive, he might actually be even more inclined to come back." Onewa answered.

Vakama looked back out the window, and slouched more on his chair. "I suppose…but ever think that you're maybe a little too optimistic? After all, there can't be a bright side to everything." Vakama asked. Onewa made a proud grin. "Nope."

&&&&&&&&

Her head rested on Onua's shoulder, Nokama lay asleep. The day past had held terrible images and memories, but she found comfort in sleeping next to Onua. She dreamt of Whenua and what had happened between them; the event continuing to run through her mind.

Suddenly there was frantic pounding on the door. Nokama shook herself awake, and saw all the other Toa awakening as well. Vakama and Onewa burst into the room. "What's going on?" Vakama asked.

"There's someone at the door." Nokama said. She slowly approached it. "Open quickly! Please!" She heard Tehutti yell from the other side. Nokama quickly unlocked the door and opened it. Tehutti burst in quickly and fell to the floor panting.

Vhisola knelt down next to him. "What's wrong, Tehutti?" She asked with worry. Tehutti was panting too hard to answer. "Where's Whenua?" Gali asked.

Tehutti sat up. "We were attacked at the Archives!" Tehutti managed to spit out. "Two Rahkshi-like creatures attacked us; right after Whenua showed me some weird piece of paper. It looked kinda like a map or something. One of them had a robotic clawed arm and an arm with black claws." Tehutti explained.

"That must have been Vorak." Onua said. Tehutti then continued. "But then there was a second one. It had a huge arm, with a black claw on it, and its other arm was just as big, but it had white colouration, and an Ice Blade attached to it. Then there were two extra, but smaller arms, beneath them. The left one was white, and the right one was black, and they each held and identical weapon, that looked like jackhammers. And his eyes… his eyes were blacker than the darkest corners of any cave…" Tehutti explained, in a terrified trance from remembering the image.

Gali knelt down to Tehutti's level and looked him in the eyes, snapping him out of his trance. "Where is Whenua?" She asked.

"Whenua… told me to run." Tehutti started, "They wanted the piece of paper that he had. He wouldn't give it to them, so they attacked him. Whenua told me to run, and I ran as fast as I could. I didn't even know where I was going. All I kept hearing was smashing and crashing, like a building was falling." Tehutti's voice started to sound extremely panicked. "I couldn't find a chute or anything. I was so confused. I wanted to help Whenua, but I knew I couldn't. I was desperate to find you guys, but I couldn't. I had no idea where I was. There was no one to help me; everyone was asleep in their homes. I ran for hours until I finally found this place again…" Tehutti was gasping for breath. "I have no idea if Whenua is even alive anymore!" He yelled tearfully.

"Shh…" Gali said softly, as she rubbed his shoulder, trying to calm Tehutti down. Tehutti hugged Gali around her neck. "I'm so useless! I couldn't even get you guys to help in time! Now he's dead and it's my fault!" Tehutti yelled.

Suddenly, they all went silent as a loud crash was heard in the other room. "What the heck was that?" Lewa said.

"Sounded like someone smashed through the window…" Pohatu said. Slowly, they all stepped towards the door. Cautiously, Vakama opened it.

There was an enormous hole in the wall where the window used to be. Lying on the floor among the rubble was Whenua. "Whenua!" Tehutti yelled, running over and kneeling next to him. They all crowded around him, looking at him eagerly. "Is he dead?" Takanuva asked. Gali was kneeling next to him now as well, examining his injuries.

"_Whenua…_" Nokama thought to herself as she saw his beaten body. If he had let her come, this may not have happened. "_Why did he have to be that way?_"

Whenua was still holding his Earth-Shock drills, and sections of his armour were cracked. He was also bleeding from severe stab wounds on his left arm. There were a number of smaller injuries throughout his body as well. His eyes were shut, but it appeared that he was breathing.

Suddenly, Whenua's eyes shot open. He felt disoriented and confused as he saw the worried faces of his friends. An instant later his memories returned and he realized what was going on once more. His expression became very urgent, as he tried to rise.

"Whenua, what's wrong?" Gali asked. Whenua was in immense pain, but managed to get back onto his feet. He put his drills back onto his back and held his left arm as he slowly walked through them. He looked back at Vakama. "We need to go right now." He said seriously. "Why, what's the matter?" Tahu asked, pushing his way to the front.

"You guys stay here. And by you guys I mean the Toa Nuva and the Matoran. This is something we need to do as quick as possible, and without getting noticed." Whenua explained. He then walked through the door, the other Toa Metru followed after him.

"Why only you guys?" Onua asked. Whenua was lifting Matau's corpse over his right shoulder. "Because we have to look out for our team-mates. If this were Lewa, wouldn't you guys want to take care of it on your own?" Whenua asked. Onua nodded in understanding.

"Uh, why are you carrying Matau?" Onewa asked with a perplexed look. Whenua struggled to hold Matau up. "Because…ugh…we need to revive him as soon as we get the stone…" Whenua said. The pain his body was in made it hard for him to hold Matau up. Onewa walked over. "You're too injured to carry him. Pass him to me."

Whenua crouched down and passed Matau onto Onewa's shoulder. "Let's go…" Whenua said, standing up again. "Wait!" Gali yelled. Whenua turned around. Gali grabbed Whenua's right hand and placed a Bulla Berry in it. "You'll need that." Gali said with a caring smile.

Whenua ate the berry. "Thanks." He responded, smiling slightly at her. The Toa Metru then made their way out of the building.

&&&&&&&&

The Toa Metru snuck through the back allies of Ga-Metru, making sure not to be seen by any Matoran or Vahki. "Where are we going, Whenua?" Vakama asked, walking quickly alongside him. "And how do you know this is that right way?"

Whenua held out a folded piece of paper, handing it to Vakama. Vakama unfolded it and observed what was on the inside. "This is a map." Vakama said. "To the Amana Volo Stone you spoke of?"

"Yeah," Whenua answered. "It's hidden atop a really high Knowledge Tower in Ko-Metru. The only problem is Vorak and Grievous have seen it." Whenua said. "So they know where it is too. It would appear that Makuta is after the stone as well." Vakama shook his head with frustration. "Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse." He said.

"Who's Grievous?" Nokama asked suddenly. Whenua looked over at her. "I don't know. But whatever it is, Vorak calls it his brother. But what confuses me most about it is that it had trace amounts of ice element, as well as shadow." Whenua explained. "Our only hope is the fact that they don't know Metru Nui as well as we do."

"We'd better hurry up then." Vakama said. He looked back at Onewa, who was lagging behind due to the fact that he was carrying Matau. "We need to hurry up, Onewa." Vakama said. "I hear ya." Onewa said with a pant. He hurried up after them.

&&&&&&&&

After a short commute through chutes, the Toa Metru had arrived at the Ko-Metru Knowledge Towers. Finding where they needed to go however, proved exceedingly difficult. The map was vague, and there were hundreds of knowledge towers, all of which were exceptionally high. The Amana Volo Stone could've been hidden atop any one of them.

The Toa Metru had made their way up the paths of one of them, and were hoping to scope out the rest of the towers from the top. They had to be careful however, without crystal spikes it is very hard to move on a crystal path without slipping.

In front of the line was Whenua, followed by Vakama, then Nokama, and finally Onewa was at the back. Vakama looked over the edge of the path. They were so high up that a low layer of clouds blocked his vision of the ground below. Whenua looked over, getting slight vertigo as he did so. "Careful." Whenua said. "The last thing we want to do is fall."

Suddenly, Whenua stopped, gesturing for the others to do so as well. "What is it?" Nokama asked.

A large, four armed, Rahkshi dropped from above and delivered a heavy kick to Whenua's face. The others could only watch in surprise and horror as the kick knocked Whenua flying off the side of the tower.

"Whenua!" The three of them yelled as they saw him disappear through the clouds. Slowly they heard his echoing cries dissipate, until there was silence once more. Vorak then landed next to the four armed Rahkshi. "Long time no see, Toa. Allow me to introduce you to my brother, Grievous." Vorak said with an evil grin.

"Whenua… no…" Onewa muttered angrily. "Not Whenua too…" Vakama mumbled with disbelief. "_Whenua…_" Nokama thought to herself, filled with sadness and anger.

"Let me take the care of the fire and the water, brother. You finish off the stone and the dead one." Grievous said maliciously. Vorak grinned, "As you wish. Have fun."

Vorak leapt over Vakama and Nokama and landed in front of Onewa. Onewa put down Matau quickly and attacked Vorak furiously, catching him off guard. Onewa slugged Vorak across the face, forcing him into a wall. Onewa started repeatedly punching Vorak in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Onewa stopped and stared at Vorak, who was holding his gut in pain. Suddenly, he lunged his robotic claw forward at Onewa and grasped it onto his chest. Vorak then lifted Onewa, and started smashing his back into the crystal wall.

Grievous ran forward and struck Vakama with the back of his claw, hitting him into the wall. He then grabbed Vakama and lifted him up. He pulled back his ice blade, getting ready to stab it into Vakama. Nokama quickly ran and double kicked Grievous in the stomach, making him stumble back and let go of Vakama. As Vakama landed back on the ground, he fired a blast of fire out of his hands at Grievous, knocking him backwards and off his feet.

Nokama leapt into the air, pulling back one of her Hydro Blades behind her head. She swung it down at Grievous as she landed. However, Grievous grabbed it just before it struck his face. Nokama stood there struggling to push the weapon into Grievous; however, Grievous looked like he had no trouble holding it back at all.

Just then Nokama noticed that both Grievous's lower arms were pointing their weapons directly at her chest. The blunt end of each jackhammer was pulled in and appeared to be charging energy. They released and struck Nokama in the chest with enormous force, as well as releasing the built up energy. The green blasts helped to project Nokama backwards, and Vakama could only watch in horror as he saw Nokama fall over the edge of the tower as well.

"No!" Vakama yelled desperately. Vakama's confidence slowly depleted as he realized he had once again failed to save the life of one of his team-mates. As far as he knew, Whenua and Nokama were dead. He ran over to the edge and looked over. Nokama was nowhere to be seen.

Vorak continued to smash Onewa into the wall, which now had a very large dent smashed into it. Onewa managed to pull out one of his Proto Pitons and swung it across Vorak's face. Vorak let go of Onewa and held his face in pain.

A fiendish look suddenly appeared on Vorak's face as he lifted his hand, making it face Matau's body. Using telekinesis, he pushed his body off the tower. Onewa ran after it and jumped off, grabbing onto Matau with one hand, and the ledge with the other. "Phew!" Onewa said with relief.

Vorak laughed mockingly. "You Toa are so predictable. You try to save him, even when he's already dead. Now who's going to save you?" Vorak said fiendishly. Onewa looked over; Vakama was the only one left. He looked back at Vorak. "Goodbye, Toa of Stone." Vorak said, stomping on Onewa's hand. Onewa's grip released and he began to fall. The last thing he saw was Grievous body-checking Vakama off as well, before falling through the veil of clouds.

Author's Notes: There is a picture of Grievous on my Brickshelf account, though it might not be public till tomorrow, Sunday September 10. To access it just click the homepage link on my profile page.


	33. Chapter 33: A Gift and a Curse

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 33: A Gift and a Curse

Vorak and Grievous had been leaping and climbing all around the Knowledge Towers for hours. "They all look exactly the same!" Vorak yelled with frustration as he hung onto the side of a tower with his mechanical claw.

Grievous hit the tower and grabbed on next to Vorak. "Do you think that the Toa are dead?" Grievous asked. Vorak kept surveying the horizon of towers. "Hard to say," Vorak answered. "That Whenua's got a stubborn will. It wouldn't surprise me if he survived, let's put it that way." Vorak said, leaping towards another tower.

&&&&&&&&

A strong feeling of sickness was in his stomach, he felt light headed, and he ached all over. There was also the burning pain that ran through his body, the pain that he still feels, having left on impression on his nerves. Who is he? Where is he and why? These questions ran through his mind, in-between being awake and asleep. His mind could think, but was confused, while his body was not even aware of itself.

"_Is this…death?_" He wondered to himself. "_Death… dead… Matau is dead… And we have to bring him back… So we can't die… I can't die…_" Slowly his eyes opened and blurry vision returned to him. As his vision became more vivid, so did his thoughts and memories. "Right…" Whenua said lowly, as he started to get back up.

He got onto his hands and knees and stayed there. He felt as though something wasn't as it should be. But what first struck him visually was what he saw as he stared at the floor. His arms were in his peripheral vision, and he saw that his right arm was significantly larger than his left. "What the hell?" He thought out loud as he staggered to his feet.

He looked down at his arms. Despite his left arms smaller size, it felt a lot stronger than usual. He then looked at his right arm and flexed it. He felt a rush of adrenaline at the excitement of the power he felt in it. But why did he have this sick feeling?

He was in a dark, dank place, which seemed to have a dark green tint to it. The walls were jagged and rough, so he assumed it was a cave. He looked up to see a large hole in the ceiling, about twenty feet above him. "I must have fallen through the street." Whenua said.

Just then he realized that the weight on his back felt heavier than usual. Whenua pulled out his Earthshock drills, only to find that they were no longer drills. Instead he found himself holding twin Jackhammers. Strangely however, Whenua had a feeling that they were still the same weapons as before.

As Whenua wandered through the cave he felt strangely light on his feet. As he started into a sprint he felt himself gaining faster speeds than he ever could before. "This is amazing!" He said with excitement. Quickly, he skidded to a halt as he reached the edge of a small creek, putting his weapons on his back again.

He looked up and down the creek. His Ruru worked like a charm, letting him see everything. "Wait a minute…" He said. "I never activated my mask." Whenua quickly looked over the edge of the creek and into the water. The face looking back at him was much different than before.

His face was very reptilian, and his mask appeared to be gone. Whenua felt his face with his left hand. "Yeah, it's definitely gone. But how come I can still use it?" He wondered. He opened his mouth and felt his teeth. They were very sharp edged, and pointed. "What the hell happened to me?" He wondered in astonishment.

As Whenua lay back, he closed his eyes and tried to collect his thoughts. He breathed in deeply and sighed. It was at that point that he realized that his senses were much sharper than usual. "I can smell the water…" He said lowly.

As Whenua quieted himself down he realized his hearing was just as acute. He could hear the small trickling of water on the cave walls, and the squeaking of tiny Rahi. "Whatever happened to me…," Whenua said, opening his eyes, "I like it."

Whenua lay on the rock floor, his hands behind his head, listening to the natural noises of the cave, until suddenly he heard low speaking. "Hmm?" He said, rising quickly. He got up and followed after the sound of the voice.

As Whenua walked down the tunnel the talking suddenly stopped. Up ahead he saw a ray of light shining down from the ceiling. He ran over quickly and looked up. The hole was fairly high up and it looked like something had smashed down from above. He then observed the floor which had an impression left in it; someone had definitely landed there.

"Whoever it was, they're gone now." He said lowly. Whenua suddenly froze and pulled out his Jackhammers. Something leapt out of the shadows at Whenua, holding hooked, barb-like weapons. Catching him off guard, it swung one its barbs down and slashed Whenua deeply in the arm, who had moved out of the way just before it hit his head.

Whenua let out an angry cry as he hit the creature across the face with his right Jackhammer. As it fell to its knees Whenua approached it angrily, feeling a primal rage he had never felt before. It looked up at him with glowing orange eyes, which looked as though they had just realized something.

Whenua's body, however, was fuelled with uncontrollable anger. He put his left Jackhammer on his back and lifted the being up by the neck with his left arm. The being grasped his hand but was unable make Whenua let go as he pushed it into a wall and continued to choke it. "Whe…nu…a…" It tried to say. "It's…me…Nokama…" However Whenua's grip was constricting the life out of her.

Whenua was panting to the point of low growling, and his eyes flashed red with rage. He pulled back his right arm and thrust the Jackhammer towards Nokama's face. She closed her eyes, awaiting the impact.

After a short time, the impact never came and she felt Whenua's grip go away. She opened her eyes cautiously and saw the Jackhammer an inch away from her face.

Whenua had a painful expression and let out a gasping sigh as he fell to the floor. "Whenua!" She shouted, catching him before he hit the ground. She lay him down and turned him onto his back. "What happened?" She asked. Whenua's eyes turned to her. "I can't move…" He muttered.

"That's good to know." A voice said from the shadows. "Who's there?" Nokama demanded, grabbing her Fin Barbs and getting to her feet, ready to defend Whenua. As she waited expectantly for an answer, a small, black Rahkshi faced creature holding a small staff emerged from the shadows.

"If I had not hit him with my paralysis spinner, you might not be standing there right now." It said. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Bomonga." Nokama lowered her weapons. "Don't worry," Bomonga said, "It'll wear off soon. I just needed to calm him down." Bomonga looked Nokama up and down. "Hmm, it appears you have changed as a result of the Hordika Venom as well. No wonder you attacked him first."

"Who are you?" Nokama asked; confused by all that he was saying. "I am one of six who can explain this transformation." He answered, "But we shall save that for when we reunite with the rest of your team. For now we must wait for your friend there to regain his mobility."

&&&&&&&&

Half an hour later, Whenua started to be able to move again. Bomonga had left to get the others in his group.

As Whenua slowly sat up, his right arm stung painfully, making him cringe. He looked at the deep gash that Nokama's Fin Barb had left on his arm. It had stopped bleeding but still looked fresh and was still very painful.

Whenua then stared over at Nokama, who was standing in the mouth of the tunnel that Bomonga had gone down. She had undergone a similar transformation. She had one larger arm and her face had reptilian characteristics. However, Whenua noticed that she still had a very feminine look to her and she was still very beautiful.

Memories of what happened rushed back to him. "_What was I doing? I could've killed her back there._" Whenua thought to himself."_Why couldn't I control myself? Was that really me?_" He looked over at Nokama.

"Nokama…" He said, just loud enough for her to hear him. "Yes?" She said, turning to him. Whenua continued, starting to look at the ground. "I'm sorry…if I hurt you." Nokama smiled at him warmly. She could sense that he truly felt horrible about what had happened. "It's okay…I forgive you." She responded.

Whenua turned his head towards her. "Why didn't you defend yourself?" He asked. "Why didn't you attack me?" Nokama's eyes trailed to the floor. "Once I realized it was you, I didn't want to hurt you." She replied. She looked back up at him as he started to get on his feet.

Whenua walked over to Nokama and stopped a few feet away from her. He stared into her eyes, a bothered expression on his face. "If I ever do that again…promise me you won't hold anything back. Promise me that you will do whatever it takes to stop me." He looked at her with a hard, serious expression. "I promise…" She said, staring back at him.

Nokama's eyes trailed to the gash on Whenua's arm. "Sorry about that." She said, feeling bad. Whenua looked down at his arm. "Forget about it. It's nothing." They both smiled at each other.

Nokama's eyes trailed off to the side. "Whenua… about what's been going on between us…" She said. Whenua's eyes widened attentively. Nokama continued, "I know… that you don't like Onua. I don't know why you feel that way, but I guess I really can't change anything about that. It's just that…" Nokama started to blush. "I really like him…a lot…and I would hate for our friendship to be ruined just because I want to be with him." The earth underneath Whenua's feet cracked as he heard her say this. However he kept himself calm regardless.

"If you keep fighting with him, I feel that it's going to tear us apart. So please, for me; could you promise me you will stop fighting with him?" Nokama asked, looking into Whenua's eyes with nervous expectancy.

Whenua closed his eyes and sighed heavily, before opening them again and looking back at her. "Nokama I…" He said reluctantly. "It's just that…" Whenua made a groaning sigh. "…I promise…not to fight with him anymore." Nokama smiled at him fondly. "Thank you." She said.

"There you guys are!" A familiar voice said. They both turned to see who they assumed to be Vakama, alongside Onewa, who was holding Matau over his shoulder. "So the same thing happened to you guys too, huh?" Vakama asked.

&&&&&&&&

All four of the Toa stood in the small cave, staring at four small Rahkshi-faced creatures. The stone and ice ones were currently away. "So, who are you guys anyways?" Vakama asked.

The red one, Norik, spoke. "We are beings known as the Rahaga. Though our faces may give you the wrong impression, I can assure we are not related in any way to Rahkshi. Long ago we started living in the sewers of this great city. However, that is not what's important right now. What's important is that you understand the forms you now stand in." Norik explained.

"So what happened to us then?" Onewa asked. Norik closed his eyes in thought. "Somehow, you have been bitten by Visorak, and the Hordika venom has strangely mutated you into these primal forms, instead of killing you. We are not sure where this spider has come from, but there do not appear to be very many." Norik explained.

"You have to understand what you have become though." The blue one, Gaaki, said. "The transformation has left you with physical attributes vastly superior to what you had before. It has also heightened your senses and your elemental powers. All around, you are much stronger Toa than you ever were before. But there is a price for such a gift like this. Though it gives you the power to do great things, it also has a very dark side." Gaaki explained.

All of the Toa Hordika's eyes widened curiously. "What do you mean a 'dark side'?" Vakama asked. Norik spoke, "There is a Hordika side to you now that will surface under times of uncontrollable anger or rage. When it surfaces it will make you savage and violent. I believe Bomonga told me that you experienced that first hand, did you not Toa of Earth?" Norik asked. Whenua was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed. He nodded in response.

"This side will give you the strength to persevere through great hardships, so long as you are mentally disciplined enough to keep it under control and use it, instead of letting it control you. If it takes full control, the odds of changing back are slim to none. If you can learn to use its anger, without losing control of yourself that is when it will be most helpful." Norik explained. "So it is your gift, and your curse."

"If this venom normally kills what it infects, then how do you know all this?" Nokama asked. Bomonga answered, "We have seen the wrath of the venom before, and on a rare occasion it leaves the victim mutated just like you all are."

"We have told you what you need to know, so I suggest you keep what we've said today in mind." Norik said. "But now you have other matters to attend to. Like your quest for the Amana Volo stone. You all haven't forgotten that have you?" He asked.

"No, we haven't." Vakama responded. Norik nodded. "Then you all had best get going. I know we'll meet again someday. In fact, I'm sure of it"

&&&&&&&&

An exhilarating feeling rushed through their bodies as the Toa Hordika leapt from Knowledge Tower to Knowledge Tower. Even with Matau over his shoulder, Onewa had little trouble jumping along with his comrades.

Whenua and Vakama were at the front of the group. Whenua sniffed the air as they leapt through it. "You smell that?" He asked Vakama. "No," Vakama answered, "What was it?" Whenua made a serious expression. "I just caught Vorak's scent."

"_I really like him…a lot…_" Whenua remembered, cracking his neck with anger, "Time to let my anger out in an appropriate way." He snarled.

&&&&&&&&

"Come on already! This is taking forever!" Grievous yelled impatiently. Vorak was standing over the Amana Volo stone, which was encased in thick ice. He was lightly firing a beam of energy at the ice, in order to slowly melt it. Vorak looked back at Grievous, "Shut up! If I put too much energy into it I could destroy the stone!" Vorak barked.

"Well, well, well, looks like you found the stone for us, Vorak." Vakama said. Vorak looked up; Vakama was standing on a higher part of the tower. "Who the hell are you?" Grievous yelled.

"Don't you recognize us?" Nokama asked, emerging next to Vakama. The other Toa Hordika followed. Onewa was no longer holding Matau, having set him down somewhere safely. "Last you saw of us we had plummeted off a tower." Whenua said.

Whenua and Onewa leapt at Vorak, while Vakama and Nokama attacked Grievous. Whenua landed in front of Vorak and swung his Jackhammer upward, hitting Vorak in the jaw and sending him hurling backwards. As Vorak looked up, he saw Onewa above him. Onewa landed on Vorak's chest with a crash. The impact was so hard that Vorak coughed up blood. Onewa crouched on his chest, and looked at Vorak dead in the eyes. "Who's going to save you?" Onewa taunted.

Vorak's expression became furious, as he thrust his Robotic claw into Onewa's chest and fired a blast of energy, sending him flying backwards. As Vorak got back to his feet, Whenua delivered a knee to Vorak's face, and then pounded the top of his head with the back of his Jackhammer. Vorak smashed face first to the floor.

Whenua crouched next to Vorak as he slowly started to rise. Vorak's eyes met with Whenua's. Vorak made a dry laugh. "You face is more beastly than that of my own."

Whenua chuckled. "I like this face. I think it gives me more of an edge. So what's wrong, Vorak? Do you find me intimidating?" Whenua taunted.

Vorak growled at him angrily. "Don't insult me!" Vorak grabbed Whenua by the ankle and flew upwards into the air, pulling Whenua off of his feet. Vorak then threw Whenua down towards the top of the tower. Whenua landed with a crash, causing the crystal to crack.

Vorak levitated back to the ground. "I'll admit, Whenua. This is almost a challenge. I'm impressed. But I'm the one who inspires fear in this world!" Vorak yelled. Whenua got to his feet. "If you are supposed to inspire fear, then why don't I fear you?" Whenua taunted.

Vorak shouted angrily as he ran towards Whenua. Whenua started running towards Vorak, putting his Jackhammers away. They smashed into each other, grasping each-other's hands in a knuckle lock. They both pushed back with great strength, but it was a stalemate.

"You can't win, Whenua." Vorak said. Whenua grunted from strain. "Oh, yeah? And why's that?" Vorak grinned. His robotic claw started sending out massive voltages of electricity. Whenua cringed, and his legs started to twitch as he gradually started to lose his footing. "Why don't you just give up, Whenua!" Vorak taunted. "You'll die faster that way!" Whenua was in severe pain, but refused to give in.

Vakama brought out the blades of his Blazer Claws, which were fully engulfed in flames. He swung them quickly and furiously at Grievous, who was having a hard time blocking them. Grievous slashed Vakama across the face with his claw, knocking him off his feet.

Just then, Grievous felt something dig into his shoulders, as Nokama pulled him backwards with her Fin Barbs. As Grievous hit the floor, Nokama flipped forward and landed on Grievous' chest, stomping it. She then turned around and swung her right Fin Barb into Grievous' right arm. Using it to hook into him, she swung Grievous around with all her might and then smashed him downwards to the ground.

As Grievous started to get up, she crossed her weapons and fired a Wave Blast at him, knocking him back further. Nokama looked back at Vakama, who was running over, getting ready to strike. "Go get the stone!" She shouted at him.

Vakama skidded to a halt, slipping slightly. "Right!" Vakama said, turning around and heading towards it. Nokama looked back and was immediately stuck in the face by Grievous' fist. "Get out of my way!" He yelled angrily. He started to chase after Vakama, but was then shoulder-checked by Onewa.

"Maybe I should up the voltage!" Vorak yelled, angered that Whenua was still pushing back. Whenua then deliberately gave way, and slid underneath Vorak, tripping him forward. The force of the fall, plus the force Vorak had been putting forward caused the impact to be very powerful.

Whenua grabbed the apparently unconscious Vorak by the ankle. He dragged him towards the edge of the tower and tossed him off. "Enjoy your fall." Whenua said with a satisfied smirk. As Whenua started to walk away, Vorak rose above the tower full of rage, his robotic claw pulled over his head, ready to strike. "DIE!" Vorak yelled angrily.

Whenua turned around in surprise and instinctively fired his Rhotuka spinner. The blast caught Vorak off guard and caused him to fall off the tower once again. Whenua's eyes widened in surprise. "That was interesting."

Grievous pulled desperately as he was held back by the chains of Onewa's Claw Clubs. "Let me go!" He yelled. Onewa suddenly retracted the chains and pulled Grievous into the two blades on the handles. Grievous let out a cry of pain and started running backwards. He smashed into a wall, crushing Onewa in the process. Grievous started to walk away and the blades were taken out of his back as Onewa fell to the floor. "Foolish Toa." Grievous said contemptuously.

He then ran towards Vakama, who was trying to melt the thick ice that the stone was encased in. Grievous picked up Vakama by the neck violently, but Vakama kicked Grievous in the face, causing him to let go. As he landed, Vakama slashed both his Blazer Claws outward across Grievous' gut. Vakama then swung his left one upward, but Grievous blocked it with his Ice Blade.

Grievous delivered a stomping kick to Vakama's face, pinning him to the ground. He then grabbed Vakama by the chest and lifted him up. He looked down at the stone. "It's about time we did this my way." Grievous said. He pulled back Vakama and then smashed him into the ice, shattering it all and knocking him out.

He dug among the ice shards and found the stone, still perfectly intact. "If we had done it this way from the beginning we wouldn't have to deal with vermin like you." Grievous said to the unconscious Vakama. Grievous observed the Amana Volo stone. The bottom half of it was just grey stone, but the top half was crystalline and glowed a brilliant white light.

Suddenly Nokama came out of nowhere, and grabbed the stone, and leapt away. Grievous let out an angry roar. Nokama looked back and laughed at Grievous, only to realize she had made a big mistake. As she looked down, she realized that there was no longer a tower beneath her. "Oh no, I'm gonna fall!" She yelled fearfully.

She looked to the tower and saw Whenua sprinting towards the edge. He leapt off towards her and caught her in his arms. "What are you doing?" She protested. "Now we're both gonna fall!" The air rushing around them was so loud that they had to shout, despite being right next to each other.

Whenua grinned at her confidently. "Let's see if this Hordika body has what it takes! Besides, I think an Earth Toa has a better chance of surviving than a water one!" He said, as they plummeted towards the ground.

"You really are out of your freakin' mind aren't you?" She yelled to him. "Maybe!" Whenua replied as he started to see the ground below them, "Just consider this me making it up to you for what happened earlier!"

Whenua landed on his feet and crouched as they hit the ground, making a crater in the street. Whenua stared at the ground, astounded that he had actually made it in one piece.

Nokama climbed out of his arms. "Thanks a lot." She said with a grateful smile. "I don't think I could've made that on my own." She was suddenly confused, seeing that Whenua was remaining crouched down. "Are you ok?" She asked with concern.

Nokama crouched next to him and Whenua looked at her. "I can't move my legs…" He said painfully. Nokama laughed playfully as she helped him get back up. "Good thing we got the stone though." She said with a smile.

"Yeah…" Whenua said uneasily. "The only problem is…Matau is up there…" He said, pointing to the top of the tower.

Author's Notes: For those who have not seen, I am going to be hosting a fanart section for my story. Details are on my profile so check it out if you're interested.


	34. Chapter 34: Whenua's Promise

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 34: Whenua's Promise

"How are we gonna get back up there?" Nokama wondered aloud. Whenua sighed. "It looks like we're gonna have to climb back up." He said with impatience.

Suddenly, as they stared up at the clouds, they noticed a figure break through them. "Who is that?" Nokama asked. "Is it Grievous?"

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Onewa yelled at the top of his lungs. Whenua and Nokama's eyes widened urgently as they darted out of the way as fast as they could. Onewa landed on the ground with an enormous crash, causing dust and debris to fly everywhere.

Onewa walked out of his crater with Vakama and Matau over his shoulders; a smile on his face. Whenua and Nokama looked at him with irritation. "Did you really have to make such a big entrance?" Whenua asked. Onewa laughed uneasily in response.

"That doesn't matter," Nokama said. "I suggest we leave right now." Her voice was a little demanding, like she knew something they didn't, but they followed her lead and ran off to where the rest of the Legion of Toa were.

&&&&&&&&

"This is bad." Tahu said, pacing back and forth inside the room. "They've been gone far too long."

Takanuva nodded in agreement. "However, we can't just go looking for them. They might come back, and find us gone, then what?" The Toa of Light said.

Tahu groaned with frustration. "Then maybe we should send a group to go look for them. I'm sick of just waiting!" Tahu looked around and waited for someone to agree, but no one did, making him madder. "So what, you all just want to sit here!"

"Have a little faith, Tahu." Gali said uneasily, trying to calm him down. "I'm sure they'll pull through. It just might be taking them longer than we expected."

"Spare me your little pep talks, Gali. You can't always sit back and expect everything to go how you want it to. If life were that way, then Nuju will still be with us and…" Tahu suddenly stopped, realizing he had said too much. Gali stared down at the floor, a hurt expression on her face.

Onua was about to intervene, but much to his surprise, Kopaka did instead. "Why don't you lay off Tahu? Things have been bad enough for her without you going and making an ass of yourself." He said coldly.

Tahu returned a provoked expression. "Why don't you can it, Kopaka, before I get mad and decide to melt ya?" He said with a fiery look in his eyes.

Kopaka made an impatient expression and shook his head, "Cool your flame fire-spitter, before I do it for you. Just because you're bored doesn't mean we want to hear you complain about it."

Tehutti leaned over and whispered into Vhisola's ear. "Wow, they argue more than the Toa Metru do. It almost looks like they hate each other." She whispered back, "I know, they are siblings after all. Well, that's what they say anyways. But I think they don't look anything like each other." They both shrugged their shoulders and turned back to the argument.

"Well I hate just waiting here like sitting Rahi!" Tahu retorted. Tahu and Kopaka were now more in each others faces as they continued to argue. The other Toa Nuva stood there and just watched; they had seen it all before. Gali didn't even bother to do anything this time, not after what Tahu said.

"What's wrong Tahu? You don't like being left out?" Kopaka said in a mocking tone. Tahu's clenched fist started to shake with anger. "I just don't like the idea of sitting here while others are doing the fighting!" Tahu argued.

"See! What did I tell you! You don't like being left out!" Kopaka retaliated. Kopaka grinned triumphantly, sensing his victory in the verbal onslaught.

Tahu pushed Kopaka's shoulder aggressively, "No! I just don't like sitting here, not know if someone is going to attack. If others are fighting you are under the impression that all of your enemies are far away, but what you don't realize is there might be someone just waiting to take your head off! How do you think Matau bit it? He was so careless he didn't see it coming!" Tahu said.

Suddenly the wall that faced the outside was smashed inward. All the Toa Nuva quickly forgot the argument and readied their weapons. As the dust settled they saw a black, beastly reptilian creature, carrying twin Jackhammers on its back. It was breathing hard and staring Tahu dead in the face.

It walked up to Tahu and picked him up by the armour with its larger arm. "I don't want to hear a negative comment about Matau's death come out of your mouth _ever_ again." It said with a serious and hard expression on its face. "Do you get me?"

"Whenua, that's enough!" Nokama yelled, appearing through the hole, followed by Onewa, who was holding Vakama and Matau. Whenua let Tahu drop back to his feet. Tahu retained a shocked expression.

The Toa Nuva and Matoran stared at the Toa Hordika with disbelief. "What the heck happened to you guys!" Lewa said.

"We're not so sure ourselves." Nokama answered. "But whatever happened to us, it's made us a lot stronger." She then looked over at Whenua angrily. "Did you really have to wreck another wall in my home, Whenua?"

Whenua looked embarrassed, "Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Could you let me down please, Onewa?" Vakama asked impatiently. "Huh?" Onewa said in realization. "Oh! How long have you been awake?" Onewa asked.

"About thirty seconds, now please let me down!" Vakama demanded. Onewa lowered him down. Vakama got back up to his feet and brushed himself off. "Yes it has made us a lot stronger…but like the Rahaga explained, there is a darker side to it."

"What do you mean a darker side?" Pohatu asked. Vakama shook his head, dismissing the idea. "We'll save that for later." Vakama said. "Right now we need to revive Matau."

"What's a Rahaga?" Lewa asked. No one answered him however.

Onewa placed Matau down and they all gathered around him. Nokama pulled out the Amana Volo stone, which she had been storing in a small bag. It glowed with a brilliant white light.

As Lewa stared down at Matau, a big smirk suddenly appeared on his face. Gali noticed and immediately asked, "What is it now?"

Lewa chuckled once and then looked at her. "I can't wait to see the look on Matau's face when he comes back. He's gonna freak when he sees himself."

Gali put a hand on her forehead uncomfortably. "This is going to be interesting." She said lowly. She started to feel frustrated over what was about to happen.

Nokama placed the Amana Volo stone on Matau's chest. As they all watched expectantly, the stone started to glow until it became so bright that they all had to shield their eyes. When the light dissipated, the stone lost its lustre, and no longer glowed.

They watched as Matau's eyes slowly started to open, showing their bright red glow once more. As his vision became clear his eyes widened with surprise and alarm. "Ahhh! Monsters!" He yelled, getting up with a start and backing up quickly to the other end of the room. "Get away from me!" He said, pulling out his Fang Blades.

"Matau let us explain…" Onewa said, trying to calm him down. "I said, get away!" Matau said, pointing one of his blades at them.

"Matau please calm down." Nokama said. "It's us Matau, your friends." Matau stared at Nokama and started to calm down. "Nokama?" He said, his breathing slowing down. "What the heck happened to you guys?"

"Try turning around." Lewa said with a big grin. On the wall behind Matau was a mirror.

Matau turned around suspiciously, and then gasped when he saw his reflection. "What the heck happened to me!" He yelled, nearly smashing his face into the mirror. "My face! My mask! My handsome Toa-self! What the hell happened!"

The Toa Hordika all shifted uncomfortably. Matau beamed at them angrily with a demanding look on his face. "You don't know what happened…because you died, Matau. Nuju killed you at the Coliseum. And we went through a lot to bring you back." Vakama explained.

Matau had a shocked expression. "Nuju killed me! Why the heck did he kill me! What did I ever do to him!"

Nokama walked up to Matau and put a hand on his shoulder. "We don't know why he did it." She suddenly hugged Matau tightly. "We're just happy to see you alive again."

A big smile appeared on Matau's face as Nokama hugged him. "Maybe I should die more often." Nokama let go and smiled at him. "It's good to have you back."

Matau looked at all the other Toa Hordika. "I guess it's not so bad…" He said reluctantly. "It had better have made me stronger!"

"It sure has made you uglier." Lewa teased. Matau looked at him angrily. "I'll show you who's ugly!" Matau ran at Lewa with his Fang Blades and Lewa pulled out his Air Katanas and they began to fight right in the middle of the room.

Whenua made a small smile, "Some things never change, do they?" He murmured. He then looked over at Nokama and a bothered expression appeared on his face.

&&&&&&&&

Nokama sat meditating on top of the building. The roof had a number of rectangular bunkers on it, all for different uses. The sky was clear and the afternoon sun shined down brightly, surrounding her body with warmth.

She was projecting her mind all throughout Metru Nui. The transformation had exponentially increased her telepathic abilities. She could not only sense beings, but surrounding areas and the nature of things. She also found that she could now read the thoughts of others, with little concentration needed. However, that's not to say that she had begun snooping around in people's minds. She still maintained an ethical point of view in that regard.

"Hello, Onua." She said. Her statement had caught him off guard, since he had been almost certain that Nokama could not have heard him coming. He sat down next to her. "How are things?" He asked.

Nokama got out of her meditative position, and sat properly, hanging her legs over the edge of the building. "I'm in a very good mood, actually." She said cheerfully. "We just got Matau back, and Whenua has agreed to stop fighting with you."

"Really?" Onua asked with surprise. "So you finally got him off my back eh? What did you say?" He asked curiously.

Nokama made a slow smile and blushed slightly. "I told him…I told him how much I like you…and that I would like it if he stopped fighting with you so that I could still be friends with him."

Onua shifted nervously where he sat. He was quite taken off guard by her comment. He wondered; had she just admitted feelings for him? What should he say? Slowly Onua became more nervous, as the silence went on.

Nokama smiled at him, "I'm telepathic, Onua. I know how you feel…" As they stared into each others eyes a soft feeling squirmed through their stomachs. Their faces slowly started to get closer together.

"No fair…" Onua said. "You shouldn't…read my mind like that."

"What do you think of how I have changed?" She asked curiously. Their faces were inches away from each other. Onua smiled fondly at her. "You look just as beautiful." He answered. Their mouths met and they began to kiss passionately.

While Nokama and Onua expressed their feelings for each other, the Toa Hordika, Whenua, stood at the very far end of the roof, behind one of the bunkers; his back leaned against the wall, his arms folded and his eyes closed. He was not sleeping however. He had crawled inside himself, lost in a sea of thought. This was his method of meditation.

A door was next to him, which led back down to the lower levels. The door slowly opened. Whenua immediately caught its fragrance; the pleasant smell of seawater and a type flower he assumed grew in water. He found it amazing that she was able to maintain that smell, being so far away from her home. "What's up, Gali?" He asked, not opening his eyes.

She stepped out of the door and stood next to Whenua, overlooking the horizon. She could see the many Ga-Matoran scholars heading off to different lectures and small boats making their way through a bay farther off in the distance. The district was shining and the sun glistened off the water. "It's beautiful…" Gali said with a smile.

Whenua grunted, "I wouldn't know, I'm not looking." He said gruffly. Gali turned to Whenua, giving him a concerned look. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Whenua slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. She gasped slightly. "You look awful…" She said.

"That's a little harsh." Whenua said. "I like this new face, and I don't find it to be that bad at all." He turned back to the horizon, keeping his eyes open.

"That's not what I meant…" Gali said, walking in front of him and looking up into his eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder warmly. Whenua stared blankly back at her. "What happened?" Gali asked.

"Nothing, now would you please leave me alone!" Whenua protested, pushing away Gali's hand. He stepped past her and towards the edge of the roof and stood there, overlooking everything.

She stepped beside him again. "It has to do with Nokama, doesn't it?" She asked. Whenua sighed deeply. "Yeah…" He replied lowly. "I've promised…to stop fighting with Onua."

Gali returned a confused and frustrated look. "That's what's bothering you? Promising not to get in anymore petty arguments?" She asked with bewilderment, putting her hands on her hips. Whenua didn't answer at first. "That surprises me, Whenua. I would've expected more maturity from you." Gali turned around and started to walk away, disappointed in him.

"There is a deeper meaning to that promise than it would lead you to believe, Gali." Whenua said. Gali stopped. "What do you mean?" She asked curiously, turning back to face him once more.

Whenua was still facing the edge of the building. "When Nokama asked me to stop fighting with Onua I…I almost told her everything. But then it dawned on me…that even if I said all that, it wouldn't change anything. She had just admitted strong feelings for Onua to me, and that wouldn't suddenly change just because I admitted mine to her." Whenua sighed, as Gali looked up at him sadly.

Whenua continued, "It had become painfully clear that Nokama has no interest in being close to me at all. So by promising to stop fighting Onua, I've promised to stop trying. Why do you think I kept fighting with him? I don't hate his guts that much."

"Whenua…" Gali said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry…" Gali had never before realized what Whenua had been going through. He had almost been killed, just for searching for Nokama. He had been willing to get tortured for hours, just so she wouldn't have to go through it all over again. And he had stood between Nuju and her, when Nuju had snapped. And though Gali didn't know it, he had also recently taken a fall off a Knowledge Tower for her, despite the outcome. And yet, Nokama fell for someone else, whom she hadn't known nearly as long.

"Don't be sorry, Gali. It's no one's fault but mine it turned out like this. I guess I'll just have to live without her." Whenua said with anguish.

"You can't just give up like that, Whenua." Gali said reassuringly. "I've never know you as someone to give up. So why give up on something you want so much?"

"Because she is happy with Onua…who am I to take that away from her?" Whenua closed his eyes and sighed. "I suppose I was right. All I've got left is my pride and my honour. The path of a Toa-warrior is one I always knew I was destined to take, but I had hoped that I wouldn't have to walk that path alone. I guess I was wrong."

"You won't be alone…" Gali said. Suddenly Whenua started to back up. "What are you doing?" Gali asked.

"I haven't slept since the battle in the canyon. It's about time I got some rest." Whenua ran forward and leapt across the roofs of a few buildings and then leapt toward a much taller one. Gali watched him slowly get smaller, until he reached the side of the building and began to climb to the top.

Whenua lay down at the very top of the tower. He was so high up that all he could hear was soft wind blowing. He lay back and relaxed, putting his hands behind his head. "I guess I'll start training Tehutti when I wake up…" He said.

As he stared up at the blue sky, his eyes started to feel heavy. He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

Gali continued to stare at the building Whenua had climbed. "You'll always have your friends by your side, Whenua. Don't ever forget that." She said, before heading back through the door, to join the rest of the Legion of Toa.


	35. Chapter 35:The Battles of Stone and Fire

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 35: The Battles of Stone and Fire

High atop the building, Whenua lay stirring restlessly in his sleep. He tossed and turned uncomfortably, making concerned groans. He rolled over onto his stomach. "...mrmrmrm…stop…grrrr…why can't I…mrmrmrm…" He mumbled lowly.

Suddenly Whenua let out an enraged roar and smashed his right fist through the roof of the building. Whenua immediately woke up and pushed himself back into a sitting position. His heart was pounding so loud he almost couldn't hear, and he had a confused and disturbed look on his face. He slowly collected himself and he began to remember his nightmare vividly. He was so panicked and bothered by it that his hands were shaking as well.

"It was only a dream…just a nightmare…" Whenua said to himself reassuringly. "But why did I just dream that? Why of all things, did that enter my mind?" He fell back onto his back with relief. "It was only a nightmare…" He repeated. "But why did it feel so _real_? And why did I…?"

Whenua stopped as he stared up at the sky; they were covered with thick black clouds. He rose to his feet with suspicion. "How long have I been sleeping?" He wondered aloud. He looked off to the southeast, towards Ta-Metru; it looked like there was a huge gathering over there and dust and buildings were smashing, as if a huge a fight was taking place.

"What the heck is going on?" His attention was then drawn to the west, towards Po-Metru. An explosion of dark purple energy had occurred off in the distance, causing the ground the shake, even as far away as he was. Whenua's eyes widened with awe when he saw it. "Where are the others?" He immediately wondered.

Whenua leapt off the tower and landed with a crash onto the roof below and began to run across the buildings towards Nokama's home. He reached the edge of one building and leapt forward through the hole he had made earlier in Nokama's wall.

"Vakama! Gali! Onewa! Anybody?" He called out urgently as he searched through the rooms. He ran out of the room and up the stairs to the roof. He jumped on top of a bunker and surveyed the area; there was no sign of any of the other Toa.

Whenua then frowned angrily. "Why would they go fight without me!" He turned his head towards the battle that was going on in Po-Metru. "That one's closer." He decided.

Whenua started leaping from rooftop to rooftop. As he looked down at the streets he noticed many Matoran were fleeing in the opposite direction frantically. He reached one of the bridges that connected Ga-Metru to Po-Metru. He landed at the beginning of the bridge.

Dozens of Matoran were running across the bridge, escaping Po-Metru. "Hey! What's going on?" He tried to ask the Po-Matoran. Most of them ignored him however. Whenua grabbed the arm of one with his left hand. The Matoran wore a dark grey mask that Whenua could not identify. "What the heck is going on?" Whenua asked him.

The Po-Matoran had a fearful expression and struggled frantically to be free of Whenua's grasp. Whenua crouched down next to him. "Hey, calm down okay? I know I may not look it, but I'm a Toa. My name is Whenua." The Po-Matoran started to calm down. "You got a name?" Whenua asked.

"P-Pohtao." The Matoran stuttered nervously, a look of panic in his eyes.

"Okay, Pohtao. What the heck is going on?" Whenua asked insistently. There was suddenly another explosion of dark purple energy on the other side of the bridge, destroying several buildings. Whenua and Pohtao turned their heads towards it then looked back at each other. "Well?" Whenua asked impatiently.

"I-I don't know. It was clear out, and then suddenly the sky became covered with ominous black clouds. Then out of nowhere all these Vahki and Bohrok swarmed the streets and began to attack us. They were lead by some black Rahkshi with a robotic arm." Pohtao explained.

"That's probably Vorak…" Whenua said, making a low growl. "Are there any Toa there?"

"Y-yeah I think I saw a stone Toa because now that I think about it he looked a lot like you. There was also another stone Toa, water Toa, ice Toa and an earth Toa. The earth Toa started fighting with the Rahkshi leader. Can I go now?" Pohtao asked anxiously.

"Yeah," Whenua said, letting go of his arm. "Get somewhere safe and fast." He ordered. Pohtao nodded respectfully and ran off quickly. As Whenua watched Pohtao run off, he felt a strange feeling of familiarity, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Where have I seen that mask before?" He wondered aloud.

Whenua forgot about it and turned his attention to the battle ahead. He started to run across the bridge. As he ran he made a small leap, and then a bigger one, and a bigger one, until he leapt high enough to reach the side of a building. He grasped the side and began to climb. When he got to the top Whenua ran towards the edge and looked down at the war zone before him.

Everything was pure chaos. A couple hundred Vahki and Bohrok were rampaging through the streets, destroying everything and anyone in their path. It took Whenua a while to notice where all the other Toa were in the shuffle of bodies.

Whenua noticed Gali; watching her swing one of her Aqua Axes in the head of a Vahki. They were slowly closing in on her, but she was fighting back courageously. Whenua leapt into the fray, and landed beside Gali, smashing away a few Bohrok with one of his Jackhammers.

Gali turned around in surprise. Whenua scowled down at her. "You couldn't have woken me up for this!" Gali shrugged her shoulders awkwardly. Whenua shook his head with frustration and quickly turned back to the battle at hand.

Whenua ran into the crowd of Bohrok and Vahki. He kicked a Bohrok in the face and sent it crashing into a group of others. He struck a Vahki in the head with a Jackhammer, denting it in. He then kneed it in the chest.

A Bordakh thrust its staff towards Whenua's chest, but Whenua managed to block it by crossing his Jackhammers. He then pushed it back and jabbed his right Jackhammer into its face and pinned it to the ground. The Jackhammer then started up with a roar smashed the Bordakh's head to pieces.

Whenua turned around, swiping his left Jackhammer through a few Bohrok. As he watched them break apart he noticed something strange. "_Since when are Bohrok mechanical? That Nuhvok wasn't…_" Whenua then snapped out of thought and swiftly bent backwards, dodging a blast of fire that a Tahnok had shot out of its claw.

A number of Bohrok then leapt above Whenua, about to pounce onto him. He lifted his legs into the air quickly and kicked them away; falling onto his back. Three Rorzakh stabbed there staffs down towards Whenua's chest. Whenua swung his Jackhammers outward, smashing all six staffs.

Whenua did a kick-up and kicked a Vorzakh flying backwards, and smashing into the side of a building. Whenua jumped high into the air and landed crashing down on a Vahki's head. Whenua then uppercut a Bohrok with his right Jackhammer; propelling it vertically into the air. The impact smashed its shell-like face. He then jabbed his left one into it as it fell back down, sending it flying.

Several Vahki lunged at Whenua, pulling back their staffs. He dodged and evaded each attack with instinctual reflexes. A Nuurakh suddenly leapt forward and kicked at Whenua. He grabbed its leg and smashed it to the ground, breaking it in half.

Suddenly Whenua was struck from behind and off his feet by a Zadakh. He fell onto his hands and knees as dozens of Bohrok started to pile up onto his back, clawing and biting at him from all sides.

Whenua struggled to break free but there were far too many. More and more kept crushing down upon him, and he started to feel a burn as a Lehvak released acid from its claw. "I'm not…finished yet…" Whenua growled lowly. "I'm just getting started!" He started to resist against the mound of Bohrok with all his might, rage beginning to fuel his strength. His arms were starting to shake from the strain.

With a sudden burst of strength Whenua broke off most of the Bohrok. He smashed off a Pahrak that was latched onto his arm and pulled off a Nuhvok on his back and threw it onto the floor in front of him. Then, he pulled his weapons behind his head and smashed them down into the Nuhvok, destroying it.

A Nuurakh suddenly clamped the ends of its staffs on Whenua's arms. Several others joined, in order to hold back Whenua's great strength. He struggled to break free, but the number of Vahki holding him proved too strong to overpower. Many Vahki stood in front of him; their mouths glowing, ready to fire Kanoka blasts.

Whenua started to pull forward, but more and more Vahki began to hold him back. The Kanoka blasts were fired, hitting Whenua directly in the chest. It sent him smashing through the side of a building. The Vahki and Bohrok watched the dust settle expectantly, in order to confirm the kill.

A Rhotuka spinner was launched out of the dust, the earth erupting upwards under its path. It blasted through and tore apart many of the Vahki and Bohrok. Whenua emerged from the rubble an angered expression on his face. His Jackhammers started up and he ran at them, letting out a valiant roar.

He leapt in the air and kneed a Keerakh in the face and, still in mid air, turned his body and kicked it in the side of the head sending it hurling. Whenua landed in a crouched position and thrust his Jackhammer into the gut of a Rorzakh. He stood up and lifted it into the air. The Rorzakh slowly tore apart as the end of the Jackhammer repeatedly smashed into it. He then elbowed backwards, smashing in the shell of a Gahlok.

Whenua then turned around; about to attack what he thought was another enemy, only to see Onewa standing there. "So you finally decided to show up eh?" Onewa said, swinging one of his clubs into the head of a Tahnok.

Whenua uppercut a Vorzakh and kicked it away. "Sorry to be tardy to the party but I didn't get an invitation." Whenua said sarcastically, smashing a Kohrak in the face.

Onewa looked over at Whenua's weapons and wondered. "Have you tried holding them back and building up energy?" He asked curiously.

"Huh?" Whenua answered, having been distracted. He looked down at his right Jackhammer. He pulled it in and held it in place. Slowly he felt the tension build up inside it and it started to glow green with energy. A Bordakh leapt forward at him and he quickly pointed the Jackhammer and released the built up energy.

The energy shot out with a loud burst and spread out like a wave of green energy. It struck the Bordakh in the chest, shattering part of it and knocking it flying back. Whenua grinned with amusement. "I like that. How did you know it would do that?"

Onewa caught a Vahki on the blades of his clubs and then tossed it away. "That guy Grievous had the same weapons. He used that attack on Nokama." Onewa was suddenly knocked off his feet by Zadakh, and a bunch or Bohrok then began to swarm him.

Whenua tried to rush to his aid, but a Rorzakh knocked him off his feet with an upwards swing with its staff, striking Whenua in the chin. He was then surrounded by Vahki, who began stabbing down at him. Whenua tried to shield his face and chest as they stabbed various other parts of his body, causing his blood to pour out.

Whenua let out a painful roar and elevated the section of ground he was lying on; quickly separating himself from his assailants. Whenua staggered to his feet, panting. The Vahki and Bohrok were trying to climb the self-made platform, desperately trying to get at him.

Whenua fired Rhotuka blasts down at the ones that were coming close to the top. The resulting blast was knocking away many others as well.

Whenua looked off into the crowd. There were still many Vahki and Bohrok left. He watched as he saw Vorak flying through the air, holding Onua in his robotic claw and smashing him through a building. Onua then leapt back at him, slashing his Chainsaws at Vorak.

Whenua could also see Gali, Kopaka and Pohatu in other parts of the swarm. He also noticed that Onewa had freed himself of the Bohrok that had earlier swarmed him.

Whenua suddenly fell to his left knee, as a two foot long spear pierced his right shin. "Arrgh!" He yelled in pain. He was then hit with three more; two in his right arm and one in the chest. He stumbled backwards and scanned the area for what had fired the spears. He then noticed a small yellow robotic creature, which was no bigger than a Matoran. It fired another one at him out of a spear-gun, hitting him in the chest.

Whenua's eyes became fierce as he stared at the creature. Using a mixture of adrenaline and rage, he forgot about the pain and leapt off the platform and ran towards the yellow creature. He smashed his way through many Bohrok and Vahki, though they were beginning to slow him down.

The creature fired more spears rapid fire, hitting him in the legs, chest and arms. Whenua stopped and stumbled back and forth, trying to keep his balance. The pain became more intense and was starting to blur his vision as he saw the Vahki and Bohrok slowly closing in on him. He looked down at the spears that stuck out of his body. The wounds all continually leaked out blood.

Time seemed to slow down as Whenua fell backwards to the ground. "_Vision…getting hazy…_" Images of Onewa, Gali, Tehutti and all the others flashed through his mind. Then the face of Vorak appeared in his mind, a grim and evil expression on his face. Whenua frowned angrily at the memory.

"_I'm…not ready to die…not yet… I'm…stronger than this!_" Whenua's eyes shot open. He let out a loud roar as he made a circle of spikes shoot out of the ground and impaled all of the encircled enemies.

Whenua slowly got to his feet, breathing hard with anger. "I've been through far too much to succumb to a few spear wounds!" Whenua put his Jackhammers back onto his back and ripped out all the spears. He then held his fists up high in the air and let out a furious shout as he smashed them into the earth.

"TREMOR BLAST!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Dozens of glowing green cracks dispersed and went in all directions into the crowd of surrounding enemies. The energy erupted from the ground, destroying many of the Vahki and Bohrok. The number of enemies surrounding Whenua was now scarce.

There was still a massive cloud of dust left over, but there was a clear path to where the yellow creature stood. Whenua had purposely missed it. He pulled out a single Jackhammer with his right hand.

He ran at the creature with furious speed. It continued to fire spears rapidly, which Whenua dodged by shifted from side to side. He reached the creature and delivered a heavy kick to its chest. It fell onto its back with a crash.

Whenua grabbed it by the neck and began to continually smash it in the face with the end of his Jackhammer. Its helmet like face dented inwards more and more with each strike. He then pulled his Jackhammer back, and drove it forward with great force, finally breaking the robotic creature's face.

Whenua froze with shock as he stared at the creature. Much to his surprise, blood had begun pouring out of its face. As Whenua sniffed the air he immediately recognized its scent. "That's…Matoran blood…" Whenua gasped.

He pulled out the Jackhammer and let the body drop. He activated his X-ray vision and examined the Matoran. The mechanical exterior had merged with its body, like someone had stuck the suit to its body.

Whenua clenched his fist angrily. "Makuta used Dume's procedure on a Matoran…" He said lowly. Gali, Onewa, Kopaka, and Pohatu, appeared behind Whenua. Onua was not there however.

"Whenua, they've retreated. Vorak told them to fall back for some reason." Gali said to him, unaware of what Whenua was looking at. Whenua continued to stare down blankly at the defiled Matoran. "We need to rendezvous with the others in Ta-Metru." Gali continued.

"I'll catch up with you guys." Whenua answered. The Toa exchanged confused glances, but then started to walk away.

Whenua picked up the Matoran's body. He carried it to a suitable location and used his powers to create a hole. Whenua gently laid the Matoran in the hole and buried it. He then found a rock and placed it over the fresh earth, using it as a tombstone.

Whenua was kneeling on one knee respectfully, in front of the grave. "Your life was thrown away tragically, and because of my lack of judgement, I ended up killing you. I do not know if you were aware of what you were doing, or if you are better off this way, but I apologize for my actions and I hope that you find peace in the afterlife. Through what I have seen today, I realize that I can no longer follow the moral boundaries that hold me back as a Toa. I will reclaim my honour against Vorak, and anyone else who thrives on the pain and suffering of others. And I will do it as I see fit." He said solemnly.

A short time later, Whenua rose to his feet again and started to head towards Ta-Metru. He suddenly caught the sent of Onua nearby.

Whenua noticed a pile of rubble and moved it all out of the way, checking underneath it. He found Onua unconscious there. Whenua shook his head with frustration as he looked down at him. He then crouched down and lifted Onua onto his right shoulder. He then continued to follow after the others.

Author's Notes: The battle in Po-Metru has been fought and won, but that conflict only marks the beginning. And what events transpired in Ta-Metru? Find out what happened in the next chapter, A Fiery Showdown: Vakama vs. Nuju.


	36. Chapter 36: A Fiery Showdown

ULTIMATE BIONICLE

**The Final Chapter**

Chapter 36: A Fiery Showdown: Vakama vs. Nuju

Outside of a large foundry, Nokama, Matau, Tahu, Takanuva and Lewa battled against a horde of Vahki and Bohrok; Grievous was among the fray as well. The sides of buildings crumbled and smashed as the epic battle in the district of fire raged on.

Inside the foundry, Vakama hid behind a large vat full of molten Protodermis. He was breathing so hard his chest felt like it was on fire. He was beaten and bleeding, his Blazer Claws in each hand. The battle outside sounded distant, but that is not what he was listening for. Somewhere inside the building with him was Nuju. They hadn't been fighting long, but already the fight had been fierce.

Nuju was strangely a Toa Hordika now as well, though he had not explained to Vakama how he came to be that way.

Vakama slowly crept around the corner of the vat, looking carefully for where Nuju might be. Vakama's hearing was acute, but Nuju was doing a good job of keeping himself hidden. The smoke produced from the molten Protodermis also made it impossible for Vakama to get a scent. All he could use was his eyes.

As he looked around the vat, a ball of ice was fired and Vakama quickly dodged it before in struck him directly in the face. He then heard Nuju's taunting laugh echo through the foundry. "You're getting really jumpy aren't you, Vakama?"

Vakama was panting and gritted his teeth angrily. "Why are you doing this, Nuju? We're your friends!" Nuju suddenly landed behind Vakama and kicked him in the back, knocking him forward to the ground. "You're no friend of mine." Nuju said with a hateful expression.

"You fool!" Vakama yelled. "Gali is alive! We've known that even before you killed Matau at the Coliseum!" Nuju's eyes widened, though he did not say anything. He then slowly put away his Hordika Teeth, staring at the ground.

Vakama sighed with relief and got to his knees, putting his Blazer Claws on his back as well. "I'm glad to see you've finally come to your-." Nuju kicked upward into Vakama's face, sending him flipping backwards and landing on metal stairs. Nuju walked up to Vakama and picked him up by the neck with his larger arm.

Nuju smashed Vakama's back into a wall. "You're more naïve than you look, Vakama. Do you honestly believe that I care about _any_ of you anymore?" Nuju taunted. Vakama's expression became angry. He kicked Nuju in the stomach, causing him to stagger backwards and gasp for breath.

Vakama landed back on his feet and pulled out his weapons once more. "Don't make me do this, Nuju" Vakama pleaded.

Nuju caught his breath again and pulled out his weapons as well. "Do what? Do you honestly believe you have it in you to kill me? What would Lhikan think of that huh? That wouldn't be very 'Toa-like' of you would it?" Nuju said mockingly.

Vakama glared at him, "Even if I do kill you…I'll still be more of a Toa than you ever will!" The blades of Vakama's Blazer Claws ignited as he ran towards Nuju.

Nuju ran towards him as well and their blades clashed together. They both pushed back and then leapt backwards and ran at each other again, clashing their swords together once more.

They both swung their blades furiously, but they proved to be evenly matched. They leapt back again and repeated. As Vakama ran at Nuju with his blades held behind his head, Nuju quickly ducked, and slashed at Vakama's stomach. The spikes on Nuju's Hordika Teeth cut deeply into Vakama's torso.

Vakama kicked Nuju away with his right leg. Nuju went spinning and crashed into the side of the vat. Vakama winced in pain as he held his slash wound. He looked back up and Nuju slashed one of his blades down at Vakama. Vakama quickly dodged to the side and Nuju continued to swipe furiously. Vakama shifted from side to side and ducked, struggling to dodge the assault.

Vakama jumped backwards, high into the air and onto a metal walkway suspended from the ceiling. He stood panting on the walkway's railing. Nuju made an angry face, "Get down here!" Nuju yelled, firing an Ice Rhotuka. Vakama jumped backwards off the railing to dodge the spinner. It struck the metal walkway instead; coating it in ice. As Vakama tried to run he realized it had frozen his feet to it. "Grrrrrrrr! Damn it!" Vakama said as he struggled to break free.

Nuju ran forward and stopped underneath the walkway. He crouched down and leapt high into the air, heading right for the walkway. He pulled down one of his blades and slashed upwards as he reached the frozen metal. Nuju burst through it, right where Vakama was standing. He slashed Vakama up the chest, knocking him onto his back.

Nuju landed on the walkway and leapt high into the air again and over the hole. He landed heavily onto Vakama's chest, and they both smashed down through the metal.

Vakama hit the ground with a painful crash, Nuju still pinning him down. Nuju then stepped off of his chest. Vakama was no longer moving. "What's the matter?" Nuju asked sarcastically. "Done already?"

Nuju smirked deviously and turned around and began to walk away, putting his Hordika Teeth back onto his back. Without warning, Nuju was struck in the back by Vakama's shoulder, sending him stumbling forward.

Nuju turned around and was slashed across the arm and chest by a Blazer Claw. Vakama then spun and slashed Nuju deeply across the chest in the other direction. Nuju stumbled back in pain. Vakama pulled his Blazer Claws behind his head and slashed them down upon Nuju's shoulders, sending him to his knees. Vakama then delivered a hard kick to Nuju's face, sending him flying into the air and crashing against a stone ledge. Vakama shot a Fire Rhotuka at Nuju, hitting him directly in the chest. Nuju burst into flames and writhed in pain as he fell to the ground.

Nuju hit the ground and the flames went out, and he was no longer moving. Vakama approached Nuju cautiously and crouched down to examine him. "HA!" Nuju yelled suddenly, looking up and shooting a blast of ice into Vakama's face. Vakama staggered backwards, temporarily blinded and trying to pry the ice off.

Nuju got to his feet and encased his fists in thick layers of ice. He delivered a devastating punch to Vakama's stomach with his right hand and then struck him across the face with his left. Vakama fell to the ground, but slowly started to get back up. Nuju approached him and lifted him to his feet. He then picked Vakama up over his head and tossed him diagonally into the air.

Nuju jumped after him until he was on Vakama's left side. He then spun his body to the right and kicked Vakama in the side of the head, sending him plummeting to the ground.

As Vakama reached the ground he stopped the impact with his arms and launched himself back into the air towards Nuju. With a powerful double kick, Vakama rocketed up and smashed Nuju in the face. He then turned back towards the ground and stabbed downwards to Nuju. The Blazer Claws stabbed into Nuju's shoulders. They hit the ground and Vakama's Blazer Claws stabbed fully through Nuju's shoulders and into the ground.

Nuju let out a cry of pain as blood ran out of his wounds. Vakama stood over his former comrade. "Are we done, Nuju?" Vakama asked with impatience.

Nuju reached over to the handle of each Blazer Claw. With a painful cry, Nuju ripped them out of his shoulders. Vakama stepped back with amazement as Nuju began to stand back up.

Nuju let the Blazer Claws go and stopped them in midair with telekinesis. He then propelled them across the room. He gave Vakama a sharp look, and then knocked him back with a powerful mental blast.

Vakama smashed into a wall, and was then brought rocketing back towards Nuju. Vakama came in at a high speed and Nuju lifted his leg and gave a stomping kick to the Fire Toa Hordika's face. Vakama was pinned to the ground so hard that it cracked and dented inwards.

Nuju took his foot off Vakama's face and started to walk away. He reached into a pouch that was on his waist with what little mobility he had left in his arms, and grabbed a Bulla Berry. He then used his telekinesis to lift the berry into his mouth. As he chewed and swallowed it he felt the mobility returning to his arms as his shoulders began to heal.

Suddenly, Nuju was hit flying back by a blow to the face. He sat up and looked, but saw no one there. He then felt something grasp his leg, though he still didn't see anything. It lifted him up and began to spin him around furiously. It let go and Nuju was sent crashing in the side of a terminal. He then felt something hard strike him in the stomach. Nuju gagged from the blow.

As Nuju stared at what he could not see, he noticed a shadow. He grinned with realization, and used the shadow to grasp the being by the neck. He stepped forward, holding it by the neck with his right arm. Vakama no longer concealed himself.

"That's a dirty trick." Nuju said angrily. Vakama laughed slightly as he gasped for breath. "Look…who's…talking…" Vakama retorted.

Suddenly and alarm started sounding off. Nuju looked around with confusion. Taking advantage of the distraction, Vakama kicked Nuju away. He then ran and the Ice Toa Hordika and began rapidly punching him in the chest with both hands.

Vakama then put both hands together and pulled them back and smashed Nuju across the face and down to the floor. Vakama panted, standing over Nuju as he slowly started to get back up. "That alarm means that the magma flow is unstable." Vakama explained. "It's gonna overflow soon. Guess I messed it up when I smashed you into the terminal."

Nuju got to his feet laughing. "Don't think you can use that as an excuse to end this fight early." Nuju said arrogantly. "This epic battle has just begun."

"You're insane, you know that Nuju?" Vakama said with exasperation. He then looked to the ground and noticed his Blazer Claws were a few feet away. He walked over and picked them up, without any objection from Nuju.

Vakama turned, and Nuju landed a punch to Vakama's face with his larger arm. He then jumped up and kicked Vakama back. Vakama went flying and then landed and skidded across the ground. As he got back up he saw Nuju running towards him. When Nuju got close enough Vakama did a back-flip, kicking Nuju in the chin.

Nuju staggered backwards as Vakama landed back onto his feet. He pulled out his Hordika Teeth once more. They furiously clashed their weapons as they each tried to hit each other. They were unaware, however, of the magma that was slowly creeping towards them, having overflowed inside its channel.

They clashed their weapons again and pushed back with their blades. "_I can't let it end like this._" Vakama thought to himself as he grunted from the strain. "What did Makuta do to you? I know that those black spikes that protrude from your body are not natural for a Toa."

Nuju made a sinister grin. "All Makuta did was make me stronger, and make me an offer I couldn't refuse." Nuju said, pushing his blades harder against Vakama's Blazer Claws.

Vakama snarled from strain and anger and pushed back as well, "And what was that? What could you possibly want from him?" Vakama asked.

"I would agree to serve him, and in exchange I would be granted great power, and the privilege of killing you and the rest of the Legion of Toa." Nuju said, making a harsh laugh.

A feral look appeared in Vakama's eyes and he pushed back angrily. The flames on his Blazer Claws grew exponentially as his rage intensified. Vakama shoved Nuju back with his blades and then pushed back so hard he sent him flying. Nuju got up slowly with a groan and stared at Vakama.

Vakama was panting angrily. "I will never let you lay a hand on any of them _ever_ again!" He ran at Nuju angrily, pulling back his Blazer Claws. He slashed at Nuju, but he leapt backwards onto a boulder, which was floating in the molten protodermis.

Vakama looked up and down the large flow of magma. The canal had completely filled and was more rapidly making its way towards him. He jumped forward and landed on the same boulder Nuju had, which was about three five metres wide and five metres long.

As they continued their battle, the wall at the far end of the foundry was beginning to melt away from all the magma.

&&&&&&&&

Nokama hooked one of her Fin Barbs into the head of a Vahki, and then jumped and spun around; kicking the Vahki away. Tahu and Lewa were nearby, fighting off other sections of the horde. Takanuva was facing off against Grievous. Matau then landed next to Nokama, stabbing a Lehvak through its face-plate and into its Krana. He looked at her and gave a heroic look. Nokama laughed slightly.

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling. Everything stopped and they turned towards the large foundry that was nearby. "What do you think that is?" Matau asked uneasily.

A strong feeling of urgency struck Nokama suddenly, like an invisible brick. "We need to get to higher ground now!" She yelled at Matau. He turned around and raised a confused eyebrow. However, he could see the sincerity in her eyes. "Okay." Matau responded, lifting off into the air. Matau's Hordika form had given him folds of skin under his arms, which he could use along with his powers of air to fly.

Nokama then concentrated and projected her thoughts into the minds of the others. "_We need to get to higher ground fast!_" Nokama saw Tahu, Lewa and Takanuva nod from within the crowd and ran towards the buildings. She saw that Grievous knew something was wrong, and fled as well.

Suddenly, the side of the foundry gave way, and magma spewed forth from inside. Nokama watch with awe as the magma flowed towards her, washing over Bohrok and Vahki; destroying them in its fiery wake. She then noticed Vakama and Nuju fighting on top of a boulder, which was riding across the top of the wave of lava. Nokama then came to her senses and quickly leapt to safety before the magma devoured her as well.

Nuju had Vakama on the ground, swinging his Hordika Teeth down at him. Vakama was blocking each blow with his Blazer Claws. Vakama leaned back, and did a kick-up into Nuju's face. He then flipped and landed on the other side of Nuju. He charged his spinner and fired it point blank into Nuju's back.

Nuju went flying off the boulder and towards a section of broken building which had been high enough not to get melted by the lava. He used a telekinetic pull to grab Vakama and bring him along with him.

Vakama and Nuju both hit the small island of rubble, Vakama landing on the higher part, while Nuju landed closer to the magma. They both got back up and immediately continued to combat each other.

Nokama and the other four stood atop a building, looking down at the battle before them. They could hear the clashing of their blades as they battled fiercely with each other. "Look at them go…" Matau said with wide-eyed amazement.

"I know," Tahu said, feeling the same astonishment. "Neither is willing to give up. It's like they won't stop till the other is dead."

Nokama stared down at Vakama with great concern. "Please…don't do it Vakama…" She pleaded lowly to herself. She looked over to the section of buildings on the other side of the molten river. Onewa, Pohatu, Kopaka and Gali stood there, looking down at the battle as well. Nokama could sense the anguish Gali was feeling as she stared down at the battle.

"We should bring them over here." Lewa said. He and Matau flew over to the other Toa, and started to fly them back over.

Vakama rolled to the side and swiped his blades at Nuju. But Nuju crossed his swords, blocking each attack. Nuju slashed his left and right blades outward, hitting Vakama's weapons out of the way. He then stabbed his right blade forward; the serrated edge digging into Vakama's left shoulder.

Vakama stumbled backwards, wincing from the pain. Nuju jumped and kneed Vakama in the face, causing him to fall back. Nuju pulled him forward again with telekinesis and stabbed his left sword into Vakama's right shoulder. "GAAAAAAAAAH!" Vakama cried out painfully, falling to his knees.

"Vakama!" Matau yelled, flying towards Vakama and Nuju as fast as he could.

"No Matau, stop! Don't even think about helping me!" Vakama yelled through his pain. Nuju turned around and looked at Matau. "What the…?" Nuju said lowly.

"What! Why the heck not!" Matau yelled, stopping in midair. Vakama yelled back, "This is something I have to face alone! Do not interfere!" He pleaded.

"…okay." Matau said reluctantly. He landed atop a pillar that was not far from where Nuju and Vakama were standing and continued to watch.

Gali was finding it hard to bear watching what was going on down below, but at the same time she found it hard to turn away. "You won't do it Nuju…" She said to herself. "I know you can't…I just know it."

Unknown to the other Toa, Whenua was standing atop a building on the other side of the river of lava, and his spear wounds still fresh and Onua still resting over his right shoulder. "Come on, Vakama. Pull through. We all know you can do this." Whenua said lowly.

Vakama was in crippling pain, Nuju's sword sticking out of his shoulder. Nuju crouched in front of him. "Looks like this is the end for you my friend." Nuju said with a devilish smile. "And look. Everyone else is here to witness you die! Too bad they won't enjoy this as much as I will!" Nuju yelled, rising to his feet.

Nuju rested the blade of his right sword on Vakama's neck. Vakama stared up at him blankly, weariness in his eyes. Nuju pulled the blade back, "See you in hell 'brother'!" He yelled. He swung the blade down towards Vakama's neck.

The Toa were all dead silent as there the sound of a strike and a spray of blood in the air. Gali fell to her knees in anguish.

"No…it can't be…" Nokama said with disbelief. All the other Toa were stuck in a frozen state of shock and distress.

Whenua closed his eyes heavily. "I suppose it had to be done…" He said.

Down below, Vakama looked up at Nuju angrily. Nuju gasped and choked in horrid pain, both Blazer Claws stabbed into his gut. Vakama twisted the blades, causing Nuju to cry out in agony. "It didn't have to be this way!" Vakama yelled with angry sorrow. He then pulled the blades out and slashed at Nuju's legs, cutting them in half at the knees.

Nuju fell back and slid down towards the lava and stopped just at the edge. Vakama swung his swords, flicking the blood off of them. He then put them back behind his back. He looked down at Nuju sadly. "You were our brother Nuju! Why do you bear so much hatred towards us? Now I have been forced to do the unthinkable!" Vakama yelled, filled with grief.

"I hate you!" Nuju managed to choke out. Vakama closed his eyes and turned away. "I'm sorry, Nuju. But I have to do this." Vakama said, raising his hand. He then used his power, and burst Nuju into flames. Nuju writhed in mortal pain as inferno surrounded his body.

Vakama lowered his hand and stared back down at the Ice Toa Hordika. The flames were slowly dieing away and Nuju was no longer moving. Matau suddenly landed next to Vakama with a thud. He placed a hand on Vakama's stabbed shoulder. Vakama cringed with pain on contact. Matau pulled his hand back quickly. "Sorry…" He said; feeling a little embarrassed.

Vakama painfully ripped Nuju's serrated blade out of his right shoulder. "C'mon, I'll bring you to the others." Matau said, grabbing Vakama by the underarms and flying towards the rest of the Toa.

As Vakama's feet touched the roof of the building he immediately collapsed with exhaustion. Nokama crouched next to him to give him aid. She rolled Vakama onto his back carefully and fed him a Bulla Berry. Nokama suddenly looked up to see Whenua climbing up over the edge of the building and onto the roof, holding Onua over his shoulder. Her eyes were fixated on Onua. "Is he okay?" She asked with worry.

Whenua walked up to Nokama and knelt next to her, laying Onua on his back next to Vakama. "He should be fine." Whenua said lowly, but just loud enough for her to hear him.

Nokama caressed the cheek of Onua's mask. She then looked over at Whenua. "Did you see what Vakama-?" Whenua nodded in response before she could finish. She looked down at the ground sadly. "I wish Vakama hadn't done that. We should've tried to help him." Nokama said.

"It had to be done." Whenua said. "There seemed to be no hope left for Nuju. The only person that could've convinced him to change at that point was himself. And if Vakama hadn't done what he did, we'd have two dead Toa."

Nokama looked at Whenua with confusion, "What do you mean 'two'?" She asked.

"If Nuju had killed Vakama, I would've taken Vakama's place in the battle, and finished what he started." Whenua said gruffly.

Nokama was about to argue, but then dismissed the idea. It was hardly the time for arguing. Her eyes trailed to the multiple spear wounds throughout Whenua's body. She gasped slightly, "Are you okay?" She asked with concern.

Whenua rose to his feet, his eyes focused on Gali. "It's nothing." He said as he walked away. Gali was sitting with her legs hanging over the side of the building, staring down at Nuju's body. Whenua sat next to her. Catching her by surprise she quickly wiped away fresh tears.

"It's strange isn't it?" Whenua said to her. She looked over at him, wondering what he meant. Whenua's eyes stayed fixed on Nuju. "It is often said how great love can be, but all I've ever seen and experienced is the pain it causes. He was a good friend, and loved you more than anything. But as soon as he thought you had been murdered, hatred woke up in him that was so great that he loathed everyone around him, and betrayed everyone he cared about." Whenua stated with wonder. "I find it hard to believe that hatred that great could just manifest on its own."

Gali sighed heavily as she looked back down at Nuju. Whenua suddenly stood up. "If you stay here it's just going to cause you more pain. Let's go." He said, extending his hand to her. Gali reluctantly took hold of his hand and rose as well, and they both turned their backs on the river of lava and Nuju.

As they walked away, a large shadowy hand appeared next to Nuju. It grabbed hold of him and then vanished, taking Nuju with it.

The entire Legion of Toa rested together tiredly on the roof of the building. Vakama was now healed and sitting up, though he was still exhausted. Onua had woken up as well and was sitting with Nokama.

"Now that it's all over, what do we do now?" Lewa asked, sitting cross-legged. "Do we go defeat Makuta again and then go back home to Mata Nui after we help you guys fix things here?"

Vakama shook his head, "Do not think it is over yet, Lewa." He said. "What happened today was merely an example of what's in store for us and Metru Nui." Vakama said, staring at the thick black clouds that infected the sky. "It's time for all the denizens of Metru Nui to unite or fall. The Great Shadow has been cast on our city, and the dark times have only just begun."

Author's Notes: Thus concludes the first instalment of Ultimate Bionicle. Originally, I was not going to end it now. However, the reason I chose to was simply because this is a very long story, and there would be far too many chapters crammed altogether (possibly double the chapters there are now). So, after much consideration, I have decided to divide the adventure into two fanfictions. I would like to give my thanks to all of those who reviewed. Thank you so much for your input and for those who didn't review, I hope you enjoyed reading my story.

I would like to point out as a little side note, that this chapter paid a little homage to Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith at certain points throughout the fight between Vakama and Nuju. For those who know the movie, you will no doubt recognize it.

Anyways, keep an eye out for Ultimate Bionicle 2: The Dark Times, coming soon to FanFiction . Net!


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